London:
Millions of British Airways customers breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday after a British court ordered unions to call off a strike by cabin crew five days before it was scheduled to start.
Other travelers, however, may still have to brave disruption to their holiday travel plans as some baggage handlers at London Heathrow and Aberdeen airports and British drivers of the Eurostar train stick to plans for a strike.
The High Court ruled on Thursday that a strike vote by Unite, the union that organizes the British Airways cabin crew, was invalid because it included workers who had already agreed to leave the airline.
British Airways sought the injunction to avoid a 12-day strike that would have started on Tuesday, grounding as many as 7,000 flights and costing the airline millions of pounds.
"We are delighted for our customers that the threat of a Christmas strike has been lifted by the court," British Airways said in a statement.
"There was never any need for a strike," the airline said, "and we hope that Unite will take this opportunity to reflect before deciding its next steps."
Talks between British Airways managers and union representatives continued for a second day Thursday. Unite said it would hold another strike ballot if no agreement could be reached.
"This dispute is not settled," two Unite officials, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley,
said in a statement after the ruling. "Passing the buck to the courts to do management's job for them was never going to be the answer."
The dispute focuses on working conditions, pay and benefits. British Airways is under pressure to reduce costs after posting a loss of 208 million pounds, or $340 million, in the six months to Sept. 30.
Eurostar, which operates trains between London and Paris or Brussels, said it planned to move French and Belgian drivers to Britain to avoid service disruption. British drivers were planning a two-day strike starting at midnight Thursday. The drivers are demanding compensation for the decline in the value of their meal allowances because of the drop of the pound against the euro.
Unite said travelers from London Heathrow and Aberdeen should expect delays when some baggage handlers walk out for 48 hours on Tuesday. The action, also ignited by a pay dispute, would affect Turkish Airlines, Emirates and Thai Airways flights at Heathrow.
Travelers in Europe were also delayed on Thursday by protests in Greece, as teachers and hospital doctors took to the street against government spending cuts, as well as by a road blockade in Madrid by Spanish taxi drivers protesting a plan to deregulate the industry. Strikes on the main regional commuter lines in Paris also caused delays, Agence France-Presse reported.
Other travelers, however, may still have to brave disruption to their holiday travel plans as some baggage handlers at London Heathrow and Aberdeen airports and British drivers of the Eurostar train stick to plans for a strike.
The High Court ruled on Thursday that a strike vote by Unite, the union that organizes the British Airways cabin crew, was invalid because it included workers who had already agreed to leave the airline.
British Airways sought the injunction to avoid a 12-day strike that would have started on Tuesday, grounding as many as 7,000 flights and costing the airline millions of pounds.
"We are delighted for our customers that the threat of a Christmas strike has been lifted by the court," British Airways said in a statement.
"There was never any need for a strike," the airline said, "and we hope that Unite will take this opportunity to reflect before deciding its next steps."
Talks between British Airways managers and union representatives continued for a second day Thursday. Unite said it would hold another strike ballot if no agreement could be reached.
"This dispute is not settled," two Unite officials, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley,
said in a statement after the ruling. "Passing the buck to the courts to do management's job for them was never going to be the answer."
The dispute focuses on working conditions, pay and benefits. British Airways is under pressure to reduce costs after posting a loss of 208 million pounds, or $340 million, in the six months to Sept. 30.
Eurostar, which operates trains between London and Paris or Brussels, said it planned to move French and Belgian drivers to Britain to avoid service disruption. British drivers were planning a two-day strike starting at midnight Thursday. The drivers are demanding compensation for the decline in the value of their meal allowances because of the drop of the pound against the euro.
Unite said travelers from London Heathrow and Aberdeen should expect delays when some baggage handlers walk out for 48 hours on Tuesday. The action, also ignited by a pay dispute, would affect Turkish Airlines, Emirates and Thai Airways flights at Heathrow.
Travelers in Europe were also delayed on Thursday by protests in Greece, as teachers and hospital doctors took to the street against government spending cuts, as well as by a road blockade in Madrid by Spanish taxi drivers protesting a plan to deregulate the industry. Strikes on the main regional commuter lines in Paris also caused delays, Agence France-Presse reported.
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