British Airways Fights Against Strike Threat

New reports now show that British Airways is asking its office-based staff to volunteer as cabin crew in case of a strike. The airline sent this “SOS” style message to its members after talks with the union broke down yet again.

A spokesperson for British Airways said that it is asking for volunteers to train as cabin crew members. The spokesperson went on to say that they are looking at a number of options though. One of the other options includes the temporary wet leasing of an aircraft, or leasing a third party aircraft with its own crew. However, this is of course just one other option on top of training other members of the staff as crew.

These volunteers would, of course, work alongside existing cabin crew members who are prepared to cross the picket line. The airline said that they will provide assistance from those cabin crew who wish to work normally. The airline added that it would explore all options to enable them to keep flying the best program possible under these current circumstances. Their priority is to keep as much of their operations running as efficiently as possible. However, this is not just for the airline, but for the customers as well.

The fight between the union and British Airways has been going on for quite some time. The last strike threat was barely avoided by British Airways after taking the decision before the court. The court went on to rule that the strike was not legal, because it included members of the British Airways staff that had already quit. Thus, people who no longer worked for the carrier were voting for strike action.