Pilots at British Airways have overwhelmingly voted to settle their long-running dispute over pay and conditions with the airline.
The vote confirms the end of one of the most damaging industrial disputes in BA’s history, which included two days of strikes in September and the cancellation of 2,325 flights. It cost the carrier £121m.
In a ballot that closed on Monday, BA staff in the British Airline Pilots’ Association voted by almost 9 to 1 to accept a deal proposed by the Acas conciliation service in November.
Pilots voted by more than 90% to take industrial action in the original ballot. The strikes in September were the first by pilots in the airline’s history.
A third day of strikes was called off, and with pilots needing to take further action soon after Christmas or lose the mandate for industrial action, Balpa recommended they accept the deal, more than a year after talks started.
The final deal is still worth the same 12% over three years, and does not have the profit-sharing scheme pilots demanded, but has some concessions on rosters and working issues.
A BA spokesman said: “We welcome this news, which is a good result for our customers, our people and our business.”
