BA ready to cancel flights

British Airways has prepared an unprecedented battle-plan in the event of the breakdown of today's crisis talks to avert next week's strike.

On Monday it will begin cancelling flights worldwide and will email hundreds of thousands of hol idaymakers, companies and business users warning them that they must make alternative travel arrangements.

Hundreds of flights from Heathrow and Gatwick will be cancelled. Flights to Asia and many of the smaller European destinations are likely to be the first to go.

The Transport and General Workers union - representing 8,000 ground staff, mainly baggage handlers, has ordered a 24-hour strike to begin at 4.30am on Bank Holiday Friday - the busiest weekend of the year for holiday travel. Late last night the GMB union - representing 3,000 key check-in staff - confirmed it will also hold a 24-hour strike at the same time in the long-running pay dispute.

The strike will cause massive chaos with the knock-on effect lasting into the following week.

BA has, however, improved its pay offer and is meeting leaders of both unions. A senior T&G source said: "This is make or break time."

Mike Harrington, in-flight service operations manager, has warned all cabin crew and pilots of "severe disruption" to services if the strike goes ahead. In an email he tells staff - who use air travel to get to flights for duty - not to rely on BA next weekend.

Mr Harrington writes: "You will not be able to rely on air travel using our own services and there is expected to be a significant overload on other carriers' services."

The company also told passengers today that if they had purchased a ticket before 19 August and intended travelling before 4 September, they could switch travel dates without charge.

The dispute also means inbound passengers to the UK face being unable to collect their luggage once they arrive here.

There is the threat of a huge backlog of passengers in airport lounges, with a repeat of the scenes at Heathrow last year when BA check-in staff staged wildcat strike action in a dispute over the use of "swipe cards" to check in and out of work. That cost BA £40million.

Passengers flying by USowned United Airlines from Heathrow to America also face strike action next Friday in a separate dispute over pay.