British Airways cabin crew vote for Christmas strike

A strike would be the first by BA cabin crew since 1997

British Airways cabin crew have voted in favour of a strike over job cuts and changes to staff contracts.

The strikes are set to begin on 22 December and run until 2 January, and are expected to cause significant disruption over the Christmas period.

Cabin crew voted overwhelmingly in favour of the strike action.

They follow a long dispute between the unions and BA, which is intent on cutting costs in order to survive a collapse in passenger numbers.

Announcing the outcome of the vote, Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Unite, said they took the decision to strike with "a heavy heart".

He stressed that the union was still keen to avoid the strikes though further negotiation with British Airways.

The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association, a section of Unite, echoed those sentiments in a statement.

"We are deeply saddened to have reached the point where we must take industrial action to get our voices heard, but feel that we have been left with no other choice," it said.

"We do not want to cause inconvenience, so even at this late stage we offer an opportunity for disruption not to occur."