Manchester based airline Thomas Cook are the latest airline to stage a 24-hour strike in a dispute over pay after pilots walked out this morning following several days of unsuccessful talks.
Today’s strike is just the first, with two further walkouts planned for the next two Fridays September 29 and October 6, should an agreement not be reached.
The strike follows the disruption caused by Ryanair last week when the Irish airlive cancelled over 2000 flights because of a mix up over pilot’s holidays with over 300,000 passengers affected by those cancellations
Brian Strutton, the general secretary of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa), said: “Our argument is not with passengers. We need Thomas Cook to understand just how resolute pilots are and how frustrated they are with the company.’
‘We need Thomas Cook to understand just how resolute pilots are and how frustrated they are with the company.
‘We urge the company to come back to the negotiating table with a better offer so this situation can come to an end.’
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: ‘We are disappointed that Balpa has decided to go ahead with the strike.
This has been the most disrupted week for UK air passengers since the 2010 volcanic ash crisis over Iceland.
