LONDON • British Airways (BA) pilots began a two-day strike yesterday, grounding nearly all of its flights and disrupting the plans of thousands of passengers in a dispute over pay.

The airline, part of the International Airlines Group, cancelled 1,700 flights to and from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports yesterday and today, ahead of action by the British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) members in BA's first-ever pilot strike.

"I am really sorry that the cynical actions of the pilots' union have put us in this position," BA chief executive Alex Cruz told BBC television.

Another day of industrial action is scheduled for Sept 27.

In Singapore, Flight BA12 scheduled to leave Changi Airport at 11.15pm yesterday was cancelled. But two other flights - BA15, which departed at 7.25pm, and BA16, scheduled for 10.35pm yesterday - operated as normal. BA flights arriving in Singapore yesterday did not appear to be affected by the strike.

The airline has offered its pilots an 11.5 per cent pay rise over three years, which it said would take the pay of its highest-earning captains from £167,000 (S$285,000), plus £16,000 in allowances, to just over £200,000. Its pilots on average earn around £90,000 a year.

Balpa wants the pay deal to include profit sharing. "British Airways is going through some good times. We want to share in those profits just as we shared the pain in the bad times," Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton told BBC television. He had said the pilots were willing to compromise, but BA was not prepared to "budge".

The airline dismissed a new offer by Balpa last week as an "eleventh-hour inflated proposal" that was not made in good faith. Balpa had said it would have called off the strike this week if BA had engaged with the offer.

Mr Cruz said 11.5 per cent was "way above" inflation and the offer already recognised that BA was making money. Inflation in the United Kingdom stood at 2.1 per cent in July. He added that the airline was prepared to negotiate.

BA also said it had no details from Balpa on which pilots would strike, and had no way of predicting how many would come to work or which aircraft they were qualified to fly, so it had no option but to cancel nearly 100 per cent of its flights.

BA has been criticised over its communication with passengers ahead of the strike, which has caused thousands of people to change their travel plans.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the airline after it enraged some travellers by wrongly telling them that their flights had been cancelled. The regulator also reminded the airline to inform customers of their rights.

REUTERS