British Airways cabin crew set to strike for seven days in March

London - Starting on March 20, cabin crew for British Airways will strike for seven days, which would potentially disrupt travel for thousands who plan to vacation for the Easter holidays.

On Friday, British Airways PLC cabin crew announced that they will strike for seven days starting on March 20, which could ruin vacation plans for thousands of travellers set to take advantage of the upcoming Easter holidays, according to the Associated Press. The union representing the roughly 13,000 crew members are walking out over a pay freeze and changes to working conditions. The walkouts are scheduled for three days from March 20 and then another four days from March 27 but British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is calling on both sides to return to the negotiating table to avoid a strike and a possible harm to the weak UK economy. However, negotiations remain stagnant as Unite union leaders have accused British Airways of intimidation as they took away an offer before the latest rounds of discussions broke down. Unite had wanted the cabin crew to vote on the offer and to call off the walkouts if the contract offer was approved; but they believe the offer was not in the best interest of union members. “Because strike dates have been announced, Unite has invalidated the offer. It is no longer on the table,” said British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh. The Financial Times reports that the British airline has trained members from the other part of the company to fill-in for those who are striking and will hire 23 fully crewed planes from charter companies to assist in its flights from Heathrow Airport. It is estimated that the strike could cost the airline upwards of $30 million per day. British Airways also announced that not all of its flights will be cancelled on those days but it has temporarily stopped selling seats for the strike days, reports the Press Association. The airline further added that passengers who have booked flights between March 19 and March 31 have the opportunity to cancel and receive a refund or rebook their flight.