British Airways (BA) has won a High Court injunction to block a planned 12-day strike by cabin crew, which would have affected over a million passengers and airports across the UK and the globe.
A union representing cabin crew had threatened to go on a 12-day strike during the Christmas period, but BA challenged Unite’s ballot of 13,500 cabin crew members with claims that ex-employees also took part in the voting, which is illegal.
Unite, which is the union representing 13,500 of BA’s cabin crew, has condemned the judgement as disgraceful.
About 92.5% of the cabin crew backed the strike, the staff were expected to walk out and not return until 3 January.
Unite said it would challenge the decision at the UK Court of Appeal after Christmas. A fresh ballot may lead to a strike in February, which will be less damaging to the airline.