British Airways is to reveal today which flights will be cancelled as a result of the seven days of strikes expected to take place later this month.
Cabin crew are due to strike for three days from March 20 and four days from March 27. The announcement last week followed the collapse of talks aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions.
BA has pledged to run as many flights as possible during the walkout. All routes from London City and two thirds of flights from Gatwick will operate normally.
The airline has vowed to run “a substantial number” of flights from Heathrow and will post details of which routes will run on its website today.
Meanwhile, prime minister Gordon Brown has intervened to try and prevent the strike going ahead. According to reports, he telephoned the joint general secretary of the Unite union Tony Woodley to discuss solutions to the dispute.
Transport secretary Lord Adonis has described the strike as “totally unjustified”. He said the strikes, if they go ahead, would “threaten the very existence of British Airways”.
The union responded by saying: “Lord Adonis appears badly informed. We all want to avoid strike action and Unite is always ready to negotiate. Unite was preparing to put BA’s offer to our members. Had they accepted it, there would be no strikes.
“However, the company withdrew that offer on Friday without explanation. Lord Adonis should publicly urge management to put that offer back on the table. Should they do so, there is still a possibility of peace. If Lord Adonis is not prepared to speak out, he risks being seen as taking the part of a bullying and intransigent management.”