British Airways resumes flights; many remain stranded

Monday, Aug. 15, 2005 | 11:47 a.m.

LONDON -- British Airways said it was operating 95 percent of scheduled flights from Heathrow Airport on Sunday, two days after the end of a ground-crew walkout that stranded more than 100,000 passengers during the peak of the summer season.

The airline said short-haul flights will be back to normal today, but that restoring long-distance services would take "a little longer."

Only 600 passengers were still waiting Sunday at the airport or in hotels, and all travelers from canceled flights had received confirmed, new tickets. The backlog of stranded luggage dropped from 30,000 pieces to 10,000, the airline said.

Passengers whose travel was disrupted by the walkout, which ended Friday after more than 24 hours, were being rebooked onto flights, given refunds or offered the chance to travel on another airline. They were still being advised to check with the airline before turning up at Heathrow, and those boarding flights were being given packages of food and vouchers because of limited catering service.

"Our main priority is to get our passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible," spokeswoman Pam Simpson said.

The strike was triggered by a dispute between catering staff and the U.S.-owned firm Gate Gourmet, which provides onboard meals for British Airways flights.

The catering company's workers' union said 800 staff had been fired Wednesday after an unofficial strike. The company said 667 workers had been dismissed.

BA baggage handlers and loaders represented by the same union -- the Transport and General Workers' Union -- stopped work in sympathy with their colleagues in catering.

While the 1,000 BA ground-crew staff returned to work Friday, talks continued Sunday to resolve the dispute with the catering staff. Gate Gourmet, which is undertaking restructuring amid financial losses, is owned by U.S. company Texas Pacific Group.

This is the third consecutive year that BA has suffered a disruption at the height of the summer holiday season. Analysts warned the airline faced losses of up to $73 million from the latest dispute.

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