BA may disrupt Prague flights

British Airways flights between Prague and London face serious disruption after cabin crew voted to take industrial action over Christmas.

The airline has four flights daily between Prague and London, most of them fully booked for one of the year's peak travel times.

The strike will begin Dec. 22 and run through Jan. 2. It is estimated around 1 million passengers worldwide face cancellations and disruption.

A spokesperson for Prague's Ruzyně Airport said they are waiting for details from British Airways on whether any flights will be operating.

Even if a strike goes ahead, there may be some flights between Prague and London. Not all staff are union members, and there is a pool of workers who could still operate flights.

Travel firms await confirmation from the airline about which flights would be affected.

The cabin crew voted overwhelmingly Dec. 14 for strike action as the airline is slashing jobs and changing staff contracts in a bid to ensure its survival.

"It goes without saying that we have taken this decision to disrupt passengers and customers over the Christmas period with a heavy heart," said Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of the Unite union.

Passengers are duly concerned. "I have heard nothing from British Airways," said Prague resident Robert Polo, who was planning to fly to Miami over Christmas with his wife and 15-month-old baby. "I bought the tickets in November for about 50,000 Kč, but, when I looked for other tickets today, they were as high as 90,000 Kč. If there is a strike, we will not be going anywhere."

McCluskey stressed that the union was keen to continue negotiations. "We will wait, ready to meet, anytime, anywhere, 24 hours a day, to try to see if we can resolve the dispute," he said.

The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association, a section of Unite, also said it is unhappy about taking strike action.

"We are deeply saddened to have reached the point where we must take industrial action to get our voices heard, but feel that we have been left with no other choice," it said.

Customers who booked before the ballot announcement Nov. 2 and have insurance to cover for strike action will be able to recover losses from making new bookings.

However, customers who booked after Nov. 2, or those with no insurance, will be refunded for the price of their original ticket. But making alternative flight arrangements will not be easy given space limitation during the festive season.

Tom Clifford can be reached at
tclifford@praguepost.com