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British (not) Airways: Why there are zero BA flights in the sky right now

Zach Wichter
Zach Wichter
Aviation Industry Reporter
Zach has been interested in things that go since he was a kid. He previously worked at The New York Times and spent much of his time there covering the aviation industry, including contributing to the paper’s reporting on the 737 Max crisis at Boeing. He grew up in Bethpage, on Long Island, and graduated from Northwestern University in 2013 where he majored in journalism and gender and sexuality studies.
Sept. 10, 2019
•
2 min read
Heathrow Terminal 5
British (not) Airways: Why there are zero BA flights in the sky right now
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If you were supposed to be flying British Airways on Tuesday, you're definitely still on the ground. There are absolutely no BA flights aloft at the moment, as the airline goes into the second day of a planned pilot's strike.

Earlier today, there was one single BA aircraft in the sky, but it appears to have been a 747 ferrying from London Heathrow to Bournemouth, likely just to park for day two of the industrial action.

A single British Airways plane was flying on Sept. 10, the second day of a two-day pilot's strike at the airline. (Image courtesy of Flight Radar 24)
A single British Airways plane was flying on Sept. 10, the second day of a two-day pilot's strike at the airline. (Image courtesy of Flightradar 24)

Here's what you need to know about what's going on at BA:

Due to an ongoing contract dispute, the airline's pilots announced a two-day strike, which began Monday and will end Tuesday evening. As a result, British Airways has had to cancel virtually all of its flights. It's likely that cancellations will spill over into Wednesday, and possibly later into the week, as the airline repositions planes to restore service when the pilots return to the line.

Service should be restored fairly quickly, but the pilots might strike again for one day on Sept. 27 if the contract dispute continues.

Click here to read more about the strike, and for advice about what to do if your travel plans have been affected.

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