Heathrow strike strands 70,000
LONDON – British Airways began the painful days-long process of moving tens of thousands of stranded passengers late Friday, after a strike that paralyzed its flights to and from Heathrow Airport was resolved.
Though all the 1,000 striking workers returned to their jobs Friday afternoon, hundreds of flights had been canceled at one of the world’s busiest airports during the peak of the summer travel season. The airline hoped to send 32 flights out of Heathrow, half to British or continental European locations, the rest to the Middle East, Asia and the United States.
Becky Thornton, a BA spokeswoman, said it would take several days before all the passengers were on their way to their destinations.
Some 70,000 BA passengers were stranded Friday, half at Heathrow and half at other airports hoping to fly to Heathrow, Thornton said. On Thursday, that figure stood at 40,000 passengers, she said.
Airports across the U.S. reported few problems, saying most passengers had been informed of the cancellations before arriving at the airport. BA tried to book as many of those customers as possible onto other airlines or reimburse them for buying tickets on other carriers, Thornton said.
Still, there was a ripple effect around the world, as passengers due to fly to London found themselves stuck.
“We’ve been here for three hours, and no one has said anything about hospitality, or sorry,” said Rick Doehring, due to fly to London from Paris en route to Detroit. “It is getting tiring.”
Thornton said the airline also must get 100 BA aircraft and 1,000 BA flight crew employees that were stranded by the industrial action back where they belong. “It will take several days to get some stability to our schedule.”
Hundreds of baggage handlers and other ground staff walked out Thursday in support of workers fired by U.S.-owned catering company Gate Gourmet. Analysts warned that the airline faced losses of tens of millions of dollars.
About 1,000 people spent the night on floors and in seating areas at Heathrow airport, BA said, while about 4,000 had been put up in hotels nearby. Incoming flights were diverted to airports as far away as Newcastle in northern England and Glasgow, Scotland.
“We are waiting, but we don’t know for what,” said Jimmy Kakoo, among a group of Portuguese Boy Scouts who fashioned a makeshift shelter from luggage trolleys and sleeping bags. “We are all a little frustrated, but we can’t do anything about it so we don’t let it bother us.”