Flights cancelled as strike looms

29/11/11

By Helen James

A large-scale strike due to take place on Wednesday has already seen some airlines cancel flights from and to a major UK airport.

Many public sector workers will walk out, including those working for the UK Border Agency. Heathrow Airport's operator BAA has warned carriers there might be long queues to get through immigration and asked them to half-fill planes arriving on Wednesday to speed things up.

It wrote to airlines saying big queues could see planes kept standing on the runway and knock-on delays to those wanting to land or aiming to take-off.

Etihad Airways, a Middle East airline, has cancelled two flights that were to go from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow and one going the opposite way. It said another service into London on Wednesday would be carrying fewer passengers than usual. One flight from Heathrow to Athens and one coming the other way have been axed by Aegean Airlines, a Greek carrier.

Virgin Atlantic said it had cut the number of passengers it would normally aim to carry by over 1,000 due to Wednesday's strike, while both the firm and British Airways have said people booked on Wednesday flights who want to change them can do so at no extra cost. No British Airways flights have been cancelled and the carrier said it wants to operate as usual.