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British Airways pilots strike – what you need to know for Monday, Tuesday and 27th September

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Pilot unit BALPA is staging a number of strikes throughout September.  BALPA represents about 90% of British Airways pilots.

The strike dates are Monday 9th, Tuesday 10th and Friday 27th September.

You can find the latest information on this special strike page of ba.com.

Note that flights from London City Airport are not impacted, except for the New York service which is operated by Gatwick flight crew.

BA 747 retirement

Monday 9th / Tuesday 10th – what is cancelled?

Everything, basically.

Only ONE British Airways flight was operating from Terminal 5 on Monday 9th September.  This was a Tokyo service and was retained due to the Rugby World Cup.  The only other flights operating were to Cairo (operated by Air Belgium at the moment due to a shortage of BA aircraft) and the Iberia flights to Madrid.

From Gatwick, the only flight was a New York JFK service which is currently operated by Evelop Airlines on behalf of BA, again due to a shortage of BA aircraft.

All passengers were contacted over two weeks in advance of travel.  Despite some initial hiccups (which forced The Civil Aviation Authority to publish this statement) British Airways was eventually very proactive in moving passengers to other airlines with over 50 carriers involved.

What about Wednesday 11th?

A normal schedule will operate, although some services are likely to be cancelled due to planes and staff being in the wrong place.  There is no space at Heathrow to store the entire British Airways fleet, and so aircraft have had to be parked at other airports across the world.

What about Friday 27th?

Cancellations have not yet been done for the strike on 27th September.

The cut-off date for British Airways is 13th September, which is the last date they can cancel your flight without offering compensation on top of a reroute.  Note that some flights on 28th and potentially also 26th will also be cancelled for operational reasons.

What can I claim if I am stranded abroad?

For people stranded abroad, British Airways has confirmed that the standard £200 per night per room hotel allowance will be available.  This can be exceeded but only if you have strong evidence that no rooms are available for that price.  You cannot remain in a £500 beach resort and reclaim that if there is an airport hotel available for under £200.

Other subsistence costs (food, taxis etc) can also be claimed.

You are not technically liable for additional costs incurred in the UK before or after travel due to date changes, but it is worth submitting receipts to BA anyway.

Will I receive Avios and tier points for cancelled flights?

Yes.  If you accepted a refund or were moved to a non-oneworld airline, you can ask BA to credit you with the Avios and tier points you would otherwise have earned.

Don’t forget to sign up to earn points from the airline you were moved to, if it is not a BA partner!  Nothing stops you earning twice.

Could the strikes be called off?

BALPA has offered to reopen talks with British Airways, but the airline has stated that no new offer is available.  The airline appears to have decided to push on with strikes rather than accept the pilot demands for profit sharing.

Can more strikes be called?

Yes, but 14 days notice must be given.  Your trip is safe once you are inside the 14 day period.

(And, to be honest, a lot of people have been getting some good results in terms of alternative carriers!  Being moved from British Airways onto Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines etc etc – if you are travelling in Business Class – would be a good result.)

BALPA’s strike ballot, held earlier this summer, is valid until January.  This allows BALPA to continue calling strikes throughout the Autumn without requiring a further member vote.

For the latest information, check out ba.com here.


How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

Nectar American Express

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

American Express Platinum card Amex

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express card

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)

Comments (419)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Travelling Inspector says:

    Had my early afternoon flight to Bologna on 11th cancelled, no seats left on the later evening one … tried to rebook for the following day (when there ARE seats) but got an error message at the very last stage of confirmation, on three attempts. So as the Ryanair price rocketed I booked theirs from Stansted for 11th. Of course when the strike is called off (I’m not cancelling anything yet) this will be money lost. Hey ho.

  • Joe says:

    I’m flying LGW > Faro on 5th September and then returning 9th September. My return flight has been cancelled. Thing is, I booked with Avios and a Flight Upgrade Voucher. So if I cancel the whole booking, will they refund the Avios, the £50 taxes, and the FUV? The FUV would have expired in Nov 2018 (but would have been valid for travel up to Nov 2019).

  • JohnT says:

    Due to fly back from Durban on 27th on Avios 241 club. Can I do anything before getting official Canx email? Looks like next ba flight 2 days later.

    • Planeconcorde says:

      Due to fly 27th Sept JER to LGW on a BA cash ticket. MMB gave option to rebook for no fee. I was impressed this was allowed so quickly after the announcement and the rebook steps were easy to follow.
      Now rebooked for a later date which suits me and relieved this could be rebooked without having to phone.

    • Planeconcorde says:

      Go to MMB and see if you return flight is shown in red text. You may have the option to rebooked. I also have a 27th September flight, cash ticket booked directly with BA, and could rebook through the web site.

  • Adam says:

    I’m supposed to be flying on a family holiday to Greece on 11 Sep. The BA flight times were the best ones . If I book 4 tickets with another airline and then the BA strike is called off can I still cancel the booking with the second airline ?

    • Shoestring says:

      normal ticketing rules will apply to your second set of tickets, only fully flexible tickets can be cancelled at will and they don’t come cheap

  • Roger says:

    BA RFS – Is cancellation fees on short haul avios with Avios + £0.50 fees is only £0.50 – for cancellation 24 hours prior to flight?
    Also does it apply to only BA metal or Iberia as well?

  • Adam says:

    My flight on the 11th has been cancelled. Why are they cancelling dates outside the confirmed strike dates of 9/10/27 Sept?

    • TripRep says:

      I guess because some planes will be out of position and to catch up on schedule.

  • Don Avis says:

    My midday flight on the 8th back from Spain has been cancelled – seems like they are cancelling flights wholesale to get inside the 14 day notice period to avoid paying compensation!

  • Chelseafi says:

    I’ve got tickets via Bonvoy for Italian Grand Prix but now return flight on 9th cancelled, I assume no return on GrandPrix 60k points? Plus If I book a return with easyJet approx £200pp now will BA pay anything towards it? Sorry I’m a little confused what BA are offering or is it just your money back on cancelled flight (£25pp), I booked as two one ways if that makes any difference? I just don’t know whether to jump on booking another return (cheapest to different airport) as back up and hope BA cancel strike before we fly out on 6th, we could then drive to Gatwick as planned, Thank you

    • Rob says:

      2 x one way means you get nothing. If it had been a return BA would have paid for food and hotel until a seat turned up.

      • Shoestring says:

        no, Raffles

        duty of care will apply to the return flight *provided* OP actually gets re-ticketed on a new BA flight home (as is their right) – the fact that it is a one-way is immaterial

        so hotel & food etc until the re-ticketed flight home

        if OP cancels return flight for a refund, then BA won’t pay for any replacement flight or be liable for duty of care

        don’t get a refund unless you are happy to use the refund money to pay towards your new EasyJet (etc) flight home, your money, your choice as getting a refund ends your contract with BA

    • Flyoff says:

      If you have flexibility to extend the stay why don’t you change the return date now.

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.