Cabin crew strike: British Airways cancels more flight services in the Gulf

BY PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 28 March 2010

The second phase of the British Airways (BA) cabin crew strike staged on Saturday, resulted in the cancellation of more flight services to and from Dubai and other airports of the UAE as well as the Gulf region.

A spokesperson of the carrier told The Gulf Today that all the passengers who booked seats in the ME region were informed of the cancellations five days ago.

"So far three Dubai-bound BA flights have been affected by the strike. The flights included BA 0108 from Dubai to London, scheduled departure at 9.25am on March 29, BA 0106 from Dubai to London, scheduled departure at 1.45am on March 30, and BA 0106 from Dubai to London, scheduled departure at 1.45am on March 31," revealed sources at the British Airways office in Dubai.

"Meanwhile, the daily return flights of the BA from London to Abu Dhabi and Muscat are operating as scheduled. We request all booked passengers to check updates posted on the website of British Airways on a regular basis, to avoid further confusion," said the spokesperson.

Paolo Be Renzis, Middle East Area Commercial Manager of the British Airways, said, "Almost all of them will be able to fly on British Airways over the four days, change the date for another BA flight or travel with another airline where available."

"Passengers of the cancelled flights will be offered seats on alternative BA flights or opportunity to travel in flights operated by other airlines or they are offered a full refund," he added.

"In some cases, customers have also claimed a full refund. With just three flights cancelled in Dubai, the impact on customers has been limited and all those affected have been contacted and arrangements have been made for them," pointed out Renzis.

According to him, this is the second part of the biggest contingency plan the BA has ever launched.

"Our aim will continue to be able to fly as many customers as we can. Several thousand customers brought forward their departures to Thursday and Friday before the strike period began," he explained.

British Airways will fly more than 75 per cent of customers booked to travel between March 27 and March 30, despite these four days being targeted for strikes by Unite.

Another BA official told The Gulf Today that the UAE passengers can contact the airline's local offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on toll-free number 8000 441 3322.