LONDON (AP) — Cabin crews with British Airways are on strike.
The walkout, expected to last three days, has forced the airline to cancel thousands of flights.
A total of 1,100 flights out of the 1,950 flights scheduled to operate during the walkout will be canceled. The airline has leased planes and crew from rival carriers to take up some of the shortfall.
What it means at Heathrow: more than 60 percent of long-haul flights will operate, but only 30 percent of short-haul. At Gatwick, all long-haul flights and more than half the short-haul flights will run as normal.
Picket lines will be mounted over the weekend at several entrances to Heathrow.
Talks broke down over a pay freeze and staffing changes.
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<<APPHOTO LST112 (03/19/10)>>
: Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley speaks to the media outside the Trade Union Congress headquarters in London, Friday March 19, 2010, after last ditch talks to avert a strike by cabin crew collapsed. Chief Executive Officer of British Airways, Willie Walsh, said it was "deeply regrettable" that the union declined to accept a proposal on pay and working conditions from the airline, adding that offer would be withdrawn once the strike begins, but Woodley said that BA "does not want to negotiate and ultimately wants to go to war with this union." BA said it expects to operate around 65 percent of its scheduled flights over the next three days.
