"Heathrow gets back to normal after walkouts"

Monday, July 21, 2003

Heathrow gets back to normal after walkouts
By Rebecca Ellinor
United Kingdom - The Guardian


Flights from London Heathrow were expected to return to normal today after a
series of impromptu walkouts by British Airways staff caused chaos for
travellers  over the weekend.

More than 80,000 passengers suffered cancellations after more than 360
flights were cancelled across three terminals following walkouts on Friday
evening and Saturday morning.

Staff were angered when the company wanted to bring in an electronic swipe
card for them to use when clocking on and off. Employees feared this would
lead to them being sent home during quiet periods and then having to make up
the time during busier days.

BA made an offer of a 3% pay rise conditional on staff accepting the new
system.

A total of 18 European outbound services were cancelled yesterday as a
knock-on effect to Saturday's disruption, with passengers suffering delays
of between 30 minutes and an hour.

Some Britons arriving at foreign airports to catch flights to the UK were
left stranded and others scrambled to rebook with other airlines.

Flight cancellations hit destinations such as Spain, France, Italy and
Germany as well as domestic flights. Long-haul flights in Terminals Three
and Four were also affected.

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