Strikes again threaten Travel to/from Europe

NEW YORK — British Airways Cabin Crew are planning to strike for up to 20 days in May and June, dding just more chaos to the Travel Industry just weeks after the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.

British Airways informed that those new walkouts would again cause disruption for potentially hundreds of thousands of customers.

The strike is due to begin early next week adding more costs for the struggling Airline in the wake of the volcano disruption and earlier walkouts. 

Unite, the Union which represents around 90 percent of the airline’s 12,000 cabin crew, said it was forced to ramp up its actions in this increasingly bitter dispute over pay and conditions. British Airways turned down an approach by the Union made last weekend.

The strike dates: May 18-22, May 24-28, May 30-June 3 and June 5-9 with just a day’s breather in between each 5-days walkout. 

” Regardless of the reasons its British Airways and their customers who are going to suffer the most ” said Rudi Seiberlich, CEO of the travel web site www.sky-tours.com. ” Many families and the travelers to the Soccer Games in South Africa have booked their trips well in advance and see hardly any flexibility with minimal alternatives to choose will be left very disappointed. “

After British Airways turned down Unite’s latest offer on Friday, Cabin Crew see they have no other alternative but to strike again.

BA estimated that the two strikes by cabin crew in March cost it around $65.8 million. The airline lost a further 180 million pounds last month when the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud grounded flights.