Strikes slash BA schedule

Striking British Airways cabin crew succeeded in getting 30 per cent of the airline's flights from the UK cancelled yesterday, the second day of their five-day walkout.

More than 40 per cent of BA's Heathrow departures were cancelled. The Unite union said that it would call a third phase of action after Easter if no breakthrough was achieved in the dispute over the airline's cost-cutting plans.

The strike began on Saturday, with 90 flights cancelled at Heathrow and problems also noted at New York City's JFK airport, although Gatwick and London City airports have not experienced disruptions to normal operations.

The Conservatives yesterday attacked Labour for being "in hock" to trade unions. Speaking on BBC1's Politics Show, David Cameron said that the Prime Minister had played into Unite's hands by failing to back non-strikers over the dispute regarding BA's budgetary reductions.

"I think the unions have scented weakness in the Government and that's one of the reasons why we're seeing quite so many strikes," he said. Mr Brown retaliated, saying: "We want BA workers to be back at work, so we've said we don't want this strike. But we also want to make it possible for arbitration and negotiation to take place."

The dispute centres on BA's cost-cutting plans, including reducing the numbers of cabin crew on long-haul flights. BA estimates that last week's three-day stoppage cost the company £21m.