British Airways strike grounds flights at Heathrow
{{date|August 12, 2005}}

What began as a ground crew strike on Thursday has escalated into the grounding of all flights from [[w:London Heathrow Airport|Heathrow]]'s Terminal 4 until at least 8pm Friday.

The row began with a funding crisis of meal provider, Gate Gourmet, which resulted in the axing of 200 full-time staff earlier on Wednesday.  In reaction, unions of ground crews and baggage handlers from [[w:British Airways|British Airways]] announced a stop work from Friday, which escalated into a full close-down of Terminal 4 on Friday due to overcrowding and backlog.

British Airways grounded more than 100 flights on Thursday evening, and by Friday evening, around 550 flights look to be cancelled.  Other airlines which utilise Terminal 4 are also affected, including [[w:Qantas|Qantas]], [[w:Sri Lankan Airlines|Sri Lankan Airlines]] and [[w:Finnair|Finnair]], with incoming longhaul flights now being redirected to other European airports, including [[w:Frankfurt|Frankfurt]].

=== Affected Airlines ===
The following hotlines have been set up for people who require more information for flights from Heathrow Terminal 4.

;[[w:British Airways|British Airways]] : 0909 894 4349
;[[w:Qantas|Qantas]] : 0870 000 0123
;[[w:SriLankan Airlines|Sri Lankan Airlines]] : 020 8538 2000
;[[w:Finnair|Finnair]] : 0870 599 7711
;[[w:GB Airways|GB Airways]] : 0909 894 5896
;British Med Airlines : 0870 850 9850

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4145884.stm
|title=Talks hope to end Heathrow chaos
|author=
|pub=BBC News
|date=August 12, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4144386.stm
|title=BA Heathrow chaos affects 70,000
|author=
|pub=BBC News
|date=August 12, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4145192.stm
|title=London strike brings chaos abroad
|author=
|pub=BBC News
|date=August 12, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4143838.stm
|title=Glum travellers wait for news
|author=
|pub=BBC News
|date=August 11, 2005}}

{{publish}}

{{PD-Article}}
{{archive}}
[[Category:Economy and business]]
[[Category:England]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Transport]]
[[Category:Aviation]]
[[Category:British Airways]]
[[Category:London]]
[[Category:Heathrow Airport]]

[[de:Chaos am Flughafen London-Heathrow]]
[[pl:Strajk na lotnisku Heathrow]]
What began as a ground crew strike on Thursday has escalated into the grounding of all flights from Heathrow's Terminal 4 until at least 8pm Friday.

The row began with a funding crisis of meal provider, Gate Gourmet, which resulted in the axing of 200 full-time staff earlier on Wednesday.  In reaction, unions of ground crews and baggage handlers from British Airways announced a stop work from Friday, which escalated into a full close-down of Terminal 4 on Friday due to overcrowding and backlog.

British Airways grounded more than 100 flights on Thursday evening, and by Friday evening, around 550 flights look to be cancelled.  Other airlines which utilise Terminal 4 are also affected, including Qantas, Sri Lankan Airlines and Finnair, with incoming longhaul flights now being redirected to other European airports, including Frankfurt.

;British Airways : 0909 894 4349
;Qantas : 0870 000 0123
;Sri Lankan Airlines : 020 8538 2000
;Finnair : 0870 599 7711
;GB Airways : 0909 894 5896
;British Med Airlines : 0870 850 9850

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Economy and business England United Kingdom Europe Transport Aviation British Airways London Heathrow Airport