Virgin Atlantic Aim To Avoid Pilot's Strike

Virgin Atlantic is to meet representatives of its pilots’ union today, with talks aimed at avoiding possible strike action.

Whilst Virgin itself called the meeting ‘routine’, The British Airline Pilots’ Association, or BALPA, described the talks as a ‘last ditch’ attempt to halt a strike following Virgin’s attempts to lower the 120 rostered days off.

Some reports suggest that if the dispute is not settled this week, then pilots will vote on whether to take action or not. Should the strike go ahead, then it would be the first industrial action in Virgin Atlantic’s 25 year history.

Jim McAuslan, BALPA general secretary, said, “BALPA always does what it can to assist airlines through downturns, as many airlines will testify, and we did this with Virgin during these past difficult years.

“To now find that the company is breaching an agreement and denying many pilots their entitlement to the equivalent of a weekend off is a real slap in the face and one which we cannot accept.

“We call on the company to pick up our offer of talks and to find a way through.”