Flights cancelled as British Airways staff strike once again

British Airways cabin crew launched a four-day strike yesterday, forcing the cancellation of numerous flights as they staged their second walkout in a week over an increasingly bitter dispute.

BA said about 70 per cent of its long-haul flights and up to 55 per cent of its short-haul flights were operating during the strike by the Unite union, even more than during last weekend's three-day action.

The airline has said more than three-quarters of its passengers - over 180,000 out of 240,000 - would still be able to travel and chief executive Willie Walsh said it was doing "everything possible" to make this happen.

In a Youtube message issued late yesterday, he added: "We're absolutely committed to resolving this dispute with the trade union and returning British Airways to normal operations as soon as possible."

Walsh has warned the airline could fold in a decade unless the changes to working practices he wants are carried out, but Unite says his "slash and burn" approach would lead to a two-tier workforce and a reduced service.

Negotiations between Unite, which represents BA's 12,000 cabin crew, and the airline broke down on the eve of the first strikes.

A BA spokeswoman said yesterday that London Gatwick and London City airports were operating as normal and enough staff had turned up to the airline's main hub at London Heathrow to crew the revised timetable.

She dismissed as "rubbish" Unite's claims that passengers on six fully loaded flights had had to disembark due to a lack of crew, and that flights were leaving with reduced crew and well under capacity.

Walsh visited Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 to talk to passengers who had their travel plans disrupted, and said he found customers "very positive".

"At the same time I am deeply sorry for those customers who have had their holidays and their plans disrupted," he said in his video message.

Outside Heathrow, striking cabin crew set up picket lines and were joined by staff from Iberia, the Spanish airline which is in talks to merge with BA.

The union has claimed the cost to the airline of the strike action would be €111 million.

By contrast, BA has said last week's walkout would cost seven million pounds a day and that an assessment of the cost of the full seven-day action could only be made after it was finished.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph yesterday, Walsh said changes to working conditions were vital to the company's survival.