Friday, August 12, 2005

What began as a ground crew strike on Thursday has escalated into the grounding of all flights from Heathrow‘s Terminal 4 until at least 8pm Friday.

The row began with a funding crisis of meal provider, Gate Gourmet, which resulted in the axing of 200 full-time staff earlier on Wednesday. In reaction, unions of ground crews and baggage handlers from British Airways announced a stop work from Friday, which escalated into a full close-down of Terminal 4 on Friday due to overcrowding and backlog.

British Airways grounded more than 100 flights on Thursday evening, and by Friday evening, around 550 flights look to be cancelled. Other airlines which utilise Terminal 4 are also affected, including Qantas, Sri Lankan Airlines and Finnair, with incoming longhaul flights now being redirected to other European airports, including Frankfurt.

The following hotlines have been set up for people who require more information for flights from Heathrow Terminal 4.

British Airways 

0909 894 4349

Qantas 

0870 000 0123

Sri Lankan Airlines 

020 8538 2000

Finnair 

0870 599 7711

GB Airways 

0909 894 5896

British Med Airlines 

0870 850 9850