British Airways cancels flights due to French strikes

British Airways has cancelled 50 short-haul flights in response to strikes in France and bad weather.

A spokesperson for the airline told the Independent newspaper: "Like other airlines, due to French air traffic control industrial action and forecasted bad weather, we’ve made a small number of schedule adjustments to some of our flights."

The spokesperson added the reasons for the cancellations were "beyond our control", and that the airline was in contact with affected customers.

The newspaper said multiple departures to Amsterdam, Hamburg, Nice, Prague and Zurich were grounded. Domestic flights to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle were also affected.

The latest round of cancellations come just days BA - part of Spain's International Airlines Group - confirmed it was axing more than 300 flights, around 5% of its schedule, to and from Heathrow over the Easter holiday period due to strikes by airport security staff.

At the time it said the majority of affected customers would be booked onto alternative flights or fully refunded.

Members of the Unite union are due to strike between 31 March and 9 April as part of a long-running pay dispute with Heathrow. The airport has offered the workers a 10% rise, but the union argues that it does not take into account pay freezes during the pandemic.

Striking staff work in the security lanes in Terminal 5, which is used exclusively by BA, as well as campus security.

BA tweeted on Thursday to expect "some delays" at the airport during the industrial action.