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British Airways pilots strike – what you need to know for Monday, Tuesday and 27th September

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Pilot unit BALPA is staging a number of strikes throughout September.  BALPA represents about 90% of British Airways pilots.

The strike dates are Monday 9th, Tuesday 10th and Friday 27th September.

You can find the latest information on this special strike page of ba.com.

Note that flights from London City Airport are not impacted, except for the New York service which is operated by Gatwick flight crew.

BA 747 retirement

Monday 9th / Tuesday 10th – what is cancelled?

Everything, basically.

Only ONE British Airways flight was operating from Terminal 5 on Monday 9th September.  This was a Tokyo service and was retained due to the Rugby World Cup.  The only other flights operating were to Cairo (operated by Air Belgium at the moment due to a shortage of BA aircraft) and the Iberia flights to Madrid.

From Gatwick, the only flight was a New York JFK service which is currently operated by Evelop Airlines on behalf of BA, again due to a shortage of BA aircraft.

All passengers were contacted over two weeks in advance of travel.  Despite some initial hiccups (which forced The Civil Aviation Authority to publish this statement) British Airways was eventually very proactive in moving passengers to other airlines with over 50 carriers involved.

What about Wednesday 11th?

A normal schedule will operate, although some services are likely to be cancelled due to planes and staff being in the wrong place.  There is no space at Heathrow to store the entire British Airways fleet, and so aircraft have had to be parked at other airports across the world.

What about Friday 27th?

Cancellations have not yet been done for the strike on 27th September.

The cut-off date for British Airways is 13th September, which is the last date they can cancel your flight without offering compensation on top of a reroute.  Note that some flights on 28th and potentially also 26th will also be cancelled for operational reasons.

What can I claim if I am stranded abroad?

For people stranded abroad, British Airways has confirmed that the standard £200 per night per room hotel allowance will be available.  This can be exceeded but only if you have strong evidence that no rooms are available for that price.  You cannot remain in a £500 beach resort and reclaim that if there is an airport hotel available for under £200.

Other subsistence costs (food, taxis etc) can also be claimed.

You are not technically liable for additional costs incurred in the UK before or after travel due to date changes, but it is worth submitting receipts to BA anyway.

Will I receive Avios and tier points for cancelled flights?

Yes.  If you accepted a refund or were moved to a non-oneworld airline, you can ask BA to credit you with the Avios and tier points you would otherwise have earned.

Don’t forget to sign up to earn points from the airline you were moved to, if it is not a BA partner!  Nothing stops you earning twice.

Could the strikes be called off?

BALPA has offered to reopen talks with British Airways, but the airline has stated that no new offer is available.  The airline appears to have decided to push on with strikes rather than accept the pilot demands for profit sharing.

Can more strikes be called?

Yes, but 14 days notice must be given.  Your trip is safe once you are inside the 14 day period.

(And, to be honest, a lot of people have been getting some good results in terms of alternative carriers!  Being moved from British Airways onto Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines etc etc – if you are travelling in Business Class – would be a good result.)

BALPA’s strike ballot, held earlier this summer, is valid until January.  This allows BALPA to continue calling strikes throughout the Autumn without requiring a further member vote.

For the latest information, check out ba.com here.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (417)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Mark says:
    24 Aug24 August 07:11

    Sorry if repeating, but my mum and dad are due to fly to Tenerife on Monday 9 Sept on a 241 and have been told their flight is cancelled…what is their best course of action? The ticket expires in Nov so no point cancelling as they won’t be able to use it, if they ever manage to get through to BA on the phone should BA be offering a re-route via Madrid or equivalent on Iberia?

    • Flyoff says:
      24 Aug24 August 08:21

      They could change the date to the Saturday or Sunday before if there is space – if they are willing to fly earlier and there is availability. BA did this yesterday evening for me even before I received a cancellation notification.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      24 Aug24 August 08:50

      They are offering flights on all IAG airlines

      You would be better off finding the exact flights you want on matrix and telling them the flight numbers and times

  • IMH says:
    24 Aug24 August 07:14

    BA is indeed cancelling more flights than one might have expected, including mine to Germany the morning before the first strike. Is this to better deploy non-striking pilots in the following days? Aircraft positioning doesn’t seem to explain it.

  • Adam says:
    24 Aug24 August 07:14

    My outbound flight on 11 Sep has been cancelled. I still want to keep my inbound on 22 Sept. Can I do this online via manage my booking or do I have to call up to get them to not cancel the second leg?

  • Chris says:
    24 Aug24 August 07:19

    I received an email overnight to say my flight to IAD on Thurs 12 Sep has been cancelled. But it still showed as operating in Manage My Booking, and the flight itself it is still bookable for cash. I asked at the Customer Services
    Desk at LHR T5 this morning and they confirmed the flight is still operating, although I have the option of cancelling or changing it if I wish. So double check before you change your plans; your flight might still be operating if it’s not on 9, 10 Sep, or 23 Sep even if you’ve received a cancellation notice.

    • Yen says:
      24 Aug24 August 08:15

      If its still operating and we do not choose to change today. But closer to time, they do decide to cancel, would we be due EU compensation? Or is it because they have provided notice (eventhough it was not cancelled) that EU comp. is out of the question?

      • Shoestring says:
        24 Aug24 August 09:52

        The cancellation notice should be explicit and that’s your starter for the 14 days’ notice (EC261). If the flight does happen to be operable after all, you received 14 days’ notice but still can choose to take the flight.

        You can sort of have it both ways. Either you accept the cancellation and re-arrange your new ticket/ refund (no compo, though), or you hang around, see if the flight is operable & take it – in which case of course no compo is payable.

        If you don’t re-arrange a new ticket or get a refund by the time of your original flight, which then goes ahead as normal despite you getting the cancellation notice – but you don’t take it – I think you’d still be fine to re-arrange a new flight within a 365 day window. There’s no immediate time limit on rearranging your new ticket or getting a refund *and* you got the cancellation notice.

        If the strike gets cancelled, you hadn’t been re-ticketed, and you got a new email telling you to take your flight as normal, you’d probably lose your flight & money by not taking it.

  • Vas says:
    24 Aug24 August 07:31

    Have also received the dreaded email even though my flight back to London is on the 8th. To top it all, their website is not working nor is the app…

  • Richard says:
    24 Aug24 August 07:44

    Anyone got a number I can actually get through to BA on????

    • Mike says:
      24 Aug24 August 07:47

      I just either get an engaged tone, cut off, or an automated message.

      Flight is not changeable on BA.com (as it’s the 11th Sept). There is CX flights available, but I don’t seem to be able to change!

      • Jon says:
        24 Aug24 August 07:58

        Exactly the same for me, flight on the 11th cancelled. The general number and executive club (silver) just have the engaged tone or cuts me off.

      • Rachael says:
        24 Aug24 August 08:03

        Me too, Mike. 🙁

        • Dale says:
          24 Aug24 August 09:25

          It is shocking that they are just cutting off customers when calling the Exec Club numbers, absolutely terrible customer service

          If I am flying out of LHR and domestic flight to EDI cancelled – can I book a flight from LCY and get them to sort it out once things have settled down??

  • Rachael says:
    24 Aug24 August 08:03

    My flight home on the 11th has been cancelled but I can still see it online to book onto? Weird. I can’t change the booking online (I guess as a 241?) and I can’t speak to anyone via the telephone number as it’s either engaged or it cuts me off. This is so frustrating! Anyone have any tips on what’s to do for the best? Should book another flight and hope they refund me? Is my flight still happenening as it’s bookable?

  • Nick G says:
    24 Aug24 August 08:06

    What do I do about BA flights booked via Iberia?

    • Czechoslovakia says:
      24 Aug24 August 10:34

      If your ticket was issued by Iberia, call them. If the BA flight is cancelled, Iberia will have to rebook you.

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