British Airways pilots will begin a two-day strike at midnight, with the biggest walkout in the airline's history set to cause travel disruption for tens of thousands of passengers.
The airline's 1700 scheduled daily flights across the globe have been axed as members of the British Airline Pilots Assocation (BALPA) begin a strike over pay conditions.
Passengers with flights booked on Monday and Tuesday have been told it is likely they will not be able to travel as planned and to stay away from the airport.
BA say most have been offered alternative arranged or refunds.
There will also be a knock-on effect to flights before and after the strike, because planes and pilots need to be in position for prior and subsequent
Both BA and the pilots' union Balpa have indicated that they are willing to start new talks, but a further strike has been set for September 27 if the row remains unsolved.
The airline operates up to 850 flights a day, with most expected to be cancelled, affecting up to 145,000 passengers.
Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said BA 'needs to wake up' and realise its pilots are determined to be heard.
He added: "They've previously taken big pay cuts to help the company through hard times.
"Now BA is making billions of pounds of profit, its pilots have made a fair, reasonable and affordable claim for pay and benefits.
"Balpa has consistently offered up chances for the company to negotiate a way forward.
"British Airways must now put the needs of its staff and passengers first and accept that its pilots will not be bullied or fobbed off."
Balpa said the strike will cost BA £40 million a day, claiming the dispute could be settled for £5 million.
The airline has offered an 11.5 percent pay rise over three years, which it says would take the pay of some captains to over £200,000.
But the union says pilots took sacrifices in hard times to support their company and deserve a 'small fraction' of BA's profits.
A BA spokesperson said: "Nearly half of Balpa members joined BA after the 2008 economic crash so they did not make any financial sacrifices.
"Since then, the aviation industry has become ever more globally competitive.
"We have had to make some difficult decisions to create the strong financial platform we now have, and which provides stability for our entire workforce, including pilots.
"Because of this we are now able to invest £6.5 billion over the next four years across BA, including 73 new aircraft bringing new opportunities for career progression for our pilots, as well as a secure future at BA."
