British Airways cabin-crew strike may affect Spain flights

A SIX-DAY cabin-crew strike on British Airways which started yesterday (Sunday) means flights to and from Spain will be among those affected.

The company does not believe any significant impact on travel will be felt, but advises anyone who has booked a flight to keep an eye on the BA website and contact the airline if they are concerned.

Staff have downed tools over working conditions and pay – a situation largely experienced by those taken on as 'floating crew' from 2010 onwards whose salaries are lower and employment terms more restrictive than those who started work with BA in 2009 or earlier.

According to Unite, the union which represents the company's cabin crew members, their basic pay is just under 12,200 pounds a year, meaning a monthly take-home of 955 pounds, plus three pounds per flight and the odd extra benefit which might include meals or drinks on board.

This means most of the newer cabin crew members have to find another part-time job on top to be able to make ends meet.

But the airline – run by Spaniard Álex Cruz and part of the Anglo-Spanish group IAG, which also owns Iberia – insists none of its staff earns less than 21,000 pounds a year, or 1,454 pounds a month after tax.

The strike will be split into two slots of three days each – the current one ending at midnight on Tuesday this week (February 7) and the second running from Thursday, February 9 to Saturday, February 11 inclusive.

Despite this, Cruz assures no flights will be cancelled and everyone will be able to travel to their destinations, although some short-haul routes will be joined together.

The only consequence of this is 'slight' changes to take-off times, Cruz explains.