BRITISH AIRWAYS yesterday came a step closer to having its flights grounded over Christmas when cabin crew unions said they would hold a strike ballot.

Flight attendants have warned for several months of industrial unrest over new contracts but yesterday’s announcement marked a serious escalation of the dispute.

The ballot will be held next Monday — the same day the contentious contracts are introduced — with the result to be announced on December 14. The timing makes it likely that any strikes will take place around Christmas, a peak period for air travel.

BA wants to cut the equivalent of 2,000 jobs through voluntary redundancy and part-time working, and take one crew member off most long-haul flights.

It also wants to employ new crew on contracts that would pay less and give fewer of the lucrative flight allowances that swell flight attendants’ pay. On Friday, the airline announced a half-year loss of £292m, the biggest in its history.

A spokesman for Unite, the trade union, said yesterday: “BA’s continued failure to consult properly on redundancies and the company’s determination to impose fundamental changes to working practices, work organisation and terms and conditions of employment, leave us no other option but to ballot the cabin crew workforce.”

Airline insiders think BA is likely to try to stop any strikes by going to the courts, a tactic it has employed successfully in the past. Unite last week sought a High Court injunction to stop the introduction of the new contracts.

The injunction was not granted but both sides agreed to a full trial of the issues early next year. The airline said: “We remain available to talk at any time and urge Unite to withdraw from its plans and resume discussions with us.”

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