British Airways has announced 60 per cent of its customers will be able to fly as planned during strike action due to be carried out by cabin crew later this week.

Two planned strikes, the first of which is due to begin on March 20th, were announced by the Unite union last week.

Speaking on Women's Hour on Radio 4 this morning the prime minister Gordon Brown described the planned strike action as being "at the wrong time, unjustified and deplorable".

The decision to strike by the union followed a long-running dispute with the airline to settle cabin crew concerns over changes to pay, conditions and job losses.

British Airways announced this afternoon that: "All of our flights are continuing to operate as normal up until the first day of the strike.

"We have now announced the schedule for the first set of strike dates, 20, 21 and 22 March.

"All flights to and from London City and all longhaul flights to and from London Gatwick will continue to operate normally throughout any strike period and any changes to bookings on these flights are subject to the original fare rules."

Although Number 10 is yet to confirm whether Mr Brown has been involved in the dispute, the Guardian has reported that the PM called Unite's general secretary to discuss potential solutions to avert strike action.

Yesterday the transport minister Lord Adonis called the strikes "completely unjustified" and appealed to the union to cancel the strikes.

He told the Andrew Marr show: "The impact this will have will not only be deeply damaging on passengers, it will... threaten the very existence of British Airways."

But Unite criticised the transport minister's intervention, with a spokesman saying: "Lord Adonis appears badly informed. We all want to avoid strike action and Unite is always ready to negotiate. Unite was preparing to put BA's offer to our members. Had they accepted it, there would be no strikes.

"However, the company withdrew that offer on Friday without explanation. Lord Adonis should publicly urge management to put that offer back on the table. Should they do so, there is still a possibility of peace. If Lord Adonis is not prepared to speak out, he risks being seen as taking the part of a bullying and intransigent management."

Cabin crew members represented by the union are angry with cost-cutting decisions made by the airline last year. Talks between BA and Unite broke down without agreement last week, and some 81 per cent of the union's balloted members voted 'yes' for strike action.
© Adfero Ltd