British Airways strike grounds flights at Heathrow

What began as a ground crew strike on Thursday has escalated into the grounding of all flights from Heathrow's Terminal 4 until at least 8pm Friday.

The row began with a funding crisis of meal provider, Gate Gourmet, which resulted in the axing of 200 full-time staff earlier on Wednesday. In reaction, unions of ground crews and baggage handlers from British Airways announced a stop work from Friday, which escalated into a full close-down of Terminal 4 on Friday due to overcrowding and backlog.

British Airways grounded more than 100 flights on Thursday evening, and by Friday evening, around 550 flights look to be cancelled. Other airlines which utilise Terminal 4 are also affected, including Qantas, Sri Lankan Airlines and Finnair, with incoming longhaul flights now being redirected to other European airports, including Frankfurt.

Affected Airlines

The following hotlines have been set up for people who require more information for flights from Heathrow Terminal 4.

• British Airways

0909 894 4349

• Qantas

0870 000 0123

• Sri Lankan Airlines

0208 538 2000

• Finnair

08705 997711

• GB Airways

0909 894 5896

• British Med Airlines

0870 850 9850

Sources

• "Talks hope to end Heathrow chaos". BBC News, August 12, 2005

• "BA Heathrow chaos affects 70,000". BBC News, August 12, 2005

• "London strike brings chaos abroad". BBC News, August 12, 2005

• "Glum travellers wait for news". BBC News, August 11, 2005
  
• http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/British_Airways_strike_grounds_flights_at_Heathrow