This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
Published on September 9, 2019, British Airways has been forced to cancel almost all its flights from UK airports on the first day of a strike by pilots.
The airline's 4,300 pilots have been locked in a nine-month pay dispute with the airline, which could disrupt the travel plans of nearly 300,000 people.
British Airways said it remains willing to return to talks with the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), but the union has rejected a pay increase of 11.5 percent over three years that the airline proposed in July.
According to the airline, the proposed pay increase would see flight captains receive "world-class" pay and benefits of around £200,000 ($246,000 or 220,000 euros) a year.
However, BALPA counters that co-pilots' salaries average around £70,000, while junior pilots earn as little as £26,000, leaving some in heavy debt due to the estimated £100,000 training cost.
"After many months of trying to resolve the pay dispute, we are extremely sorry that it has come to this," BA said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, with no detail from BALPA on which pilots would strike, we had no way of predicting how many would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly, so we had no option but to cancel nearly 100 percent of our flights," the airline added.
