The airline -- locked in a bitter dispute with workers over a pay freeze and changing working conditions -- said it was able to add several extra flights because many crew members ignored the three-day strike call. “Our contingency plans are continuing to work well on Sunday morning around the world,” it said in a statement. BA said all long-haul aircraft from overseas airports were able to arrive in London as planned on Sunday morning. The airline added there has been no evidence of strikes at any overseas airports directed at its flights.
Union leaders, however, dispute those claims. Unite, the union representing BA cabin crew, said scores of BA planes were grounded and that 10,000 members walked out on Saturday. BA was able to avoid extended chaos because it leased planes and crew from rival carriers to take up some of the shortfall. About 1,100 flights out of the 1,950 BA flights scheduled to operate during the three-day walkout were expected to be canceled. The airline had said at the start of the strike that it could handle as many as 49,000 passengers a day on both Saturday and Sunday -- compared to the average 75,000 for a normal weekend day in March.
