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Flight Chaos at Heathrow

Posted on: Thursday, 11 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

TENS of thousands of British Airways passengers were caught up in travel chaos today.

The airline cancelled dozens of flights from Heathrow after staff staged wildcat strikes in sympathy with sacked catering workers.

There was huge disruption at the airport, with queues spreading across the terminals at the peak of the summer holiday season.

A senior Heathrow source said: "There is total chaos at the airport.

Neither BA nor their passengers seem to know what is happening.

"There are people everywhere not knowing where to go or what to do."

It followed a dramatic escalation of the industrial dispute which resulted in all BA's 550 flights from Heathrow having to fly without any onboard meals. Catering company Gate Gourmet had sacked up to 800 employees in a row over pay and working conditions, meaning the airline could not provide food for passengers.

Today loaders, cargo staff and baggage handlers walked out in sympathy.

A BA spokeswoman said: "We have had to suspend temporarily check- in facilities for our flights from Heathrow. This is as a result of some of our staff stopping work.

We apologise to passengers for the disruption."

Passengers were only told of the fiasco when they arrived to checkin. Before the chaos today, more than 100,000 BA passengers using the airport were left without any inflight catering.

Travellers f lying out from Heathrow - and all other BA passengers throughout the world flying into London - were given the official advice "eat before you fly".

There had been scenes of chaos at Heathrow for 24 hours as passengers were handed food vouchers in the lounges so they could have a meal before they took off.

BA was turning a blind eye to those passengers stocking up with their own food to take with them. Even travellers booked on long- haul flights, such as 13-hour journeys to Singapore and 11 hours to Tokyo, were told there would be no food on board - only coffee, tea and water.

A total of 500 staff at Gate Gourmet, BA's sole catering supplier at Heathrow, were sacked.

The company says they were dismissed for refusing to end a sit- in as a result of a long-running industrial dispute with the Transport General Workers Union.

BA operates 550 flights - including 150 long haul - from the airport. It usually carries about 80,000 passengers a day in and out - but at holiday time the number increases by 20 per cent.

BA chief executive Sir Rod Eddington warned the lack of catering was expected to continue "for several days". Customers are being urged to book in early, or will be offered a refund and the chance to rebook flights.

BA, which set up "refreshment centres" to give travellers parcels of crackers, crisps, sweets and cake, said all flights are still scheduled to operate but may be delayed.

The industrial dispute is over pay, conditions and job cuts as Gate Gourmet, which is losing Pounds 25 million a year, tries to make savings.

Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General union, said up to 800 workers have been sacked by Gate Gourmet since yesterday morning - some at three minutes' notice - and accused the firm of indulging in "classic American union-busting".

Source: Evening Standard; London (UK)

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