British Airways Preparing For Another Strike

British Airways is preparing for yet another mini-walkout this week from a small group of cabin crew, but the airline says it will still operate all but just one percent of its flights.

The strike—set for three days beginning Thursday, Jan. 19—is by members of the “mixed fleet” crew members (about 800 total) who have joined the airline since 2010 but whose union, Unite, says they are living at “poverty wages.”

The walkout is technically known as an industrial action and would be the second in two weeks. On Jan. 10, cabin crew walked out for two days, resulting in the cancellation of 44 flights by British Airways.

Not this time, the airline said in a statement it released.

“All British Airways customers will be able to fly to their destinations on Thursday 19, Friday 20 and Saturday 21 January, despite proposed industrial action by Unite,” BA said. “British Airways has further strengthened its schedules from the previous two days of strike action, and can confirm the following details:
—All flights to and from London Gatwick will operate as normal
—All flights to and from London City will operate as normal
—All long-haul flights to and from London Heathrow will operate as normal"

"As part of our contingency plan, we will be merging a very small number of short-haul flights to and from London Heathrow. This will result in the cancellation of only one percent of our total scheduled flights across the three days. This will mean some customers will travel slightly earlier or later in the day than their original booking. Customers affected are being contacted with the options available for them.”