• “Agreement in principle” being negotiated after nine hours of talks, unions say.
• GMB and Unite union members could vote on a contract later on Thursday.
• BA has contingency plans to cover personnel if talks fail and there is a strike by check-in staff.

A settlement with British Airways that would prevent strikes this summer may be close, according to the unions that represent approximately 700 workers at Heathrow Airport.

The BBC believes that after nine hours of talks on Wednesday, a “agreement in principle” is currently being negotiated.

A vote among GMB and Unite union members would follow the signing of such a contract later on Thursday.

There is a “decent offer” of wages, according to union sources.

The majority of the check-in staff members who were employed last month decided to protest over wages after learning that a salary cut of 10% that had been implemented during the height of the pandemic had not been reinstated.

Also Read

Flight cancellations at Heathrow result in lines and “chaos”

Heathrow instructed airlines to cancel 30 flights from Thursday's itinerary. Travellers have...

Unions are pleased with the offer that is on the table for those employees, albeit it is unclear whether the pay decrease would be fully restored and if so, over what period of time.

BA, which operates out of Heathrow Terminals 3 and 5, has plans to cover personnel, including managers who may be in charge of check-ins, if negotiations fail and strikes take place.

However, there would still be delays for travellers, particularly at terminal 5, which would result in cancellations that would be concentrated on routes with multiple daily flights.

Instead of rolling back the salary decrease, the airline initially granted personnel a temporary bonus of 10%.

It is known that the offer, which the unions that represent check-in staff rejected, has been approved by other divisions of British Airways (BA), including those who work in ground operations, engineers, and cabin crew.

In the last few weeks, airport issues and aircraft cancellations have affected tens of thousands of travellers.

During the week of the Platinum Jubilee and the school half-term holidays, hundreds of flights around the UK were cancelled, and worries have been expressed about additional travel issues during the summer.

Staffing issues have made it difficult for the airline sector to meet the spike in demand for international travel, which has contributed to the inconvenience.

By reducing 10,300 more short-haul flights scheduled to operate between August and the end of October, BA stated on Wednesday.

Between April and October of this year, BA’s schedule saw the elimination of close to 30,000 flights.

Also Read

Heathrow is instructed to lower the passenger fee

Civil Aviation Authority orders Heathrow to lower airline passenger fees yearly until...