Tail fins of British Airways aeroplanes are seen on the tarmac of London's Heathrow Airport January 28, 2007. - File

Miami, Florida:

The possibility of a strike action by British Airways (BA) cabin crew over the Christmas season had created "some jitters" in the island's tourism sector.

However, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) president, Wayne Cummings' fears were yesterday laid to rest after British Airways won an emergency court injunction to stop the 12-day strike by its cabin crew.

The High Court backed BA's claim that the ballot of around 13,000 workers by the Unite labor union was illegal because it included members no longer employed by the airline.

That meant that Unite had to call off the strike.

"If BA goes on strike the ripple effects of cancellations and flight changes would be very complicated and would hurt the UK arrivals," Cummings had told The Gleaner Wednesday.

At that time, Cummings, a senior manager at one of the largest chain of hotels on the island, Sandals Resorts Internationals, said he was awaiting information from tour operator partners to determine exactly how many guests would be affected and to what extent.

£10million loss

Analysts predicted a loss of £10 million a day if flights were disrupted for 12 days, beginning December 22.

The strike was likely to ground almost all of BA's fleet, ruining the pre-booked holidays of an estimated one million travellers scheduled to fly with the airline over Christmas and New Year.

Of that number, an average 1,400 passengers per week are flown to Jamaica on the British carrier - 840 of them to Kingston and 560 to the tourism capital, Montego Bay.

Had the courts not agreed with BA, managers at the organisation had been feverishly trying to establish which cabin crew might wish to work normally during the strike period.

Industrial action

The BA workers wanted to resort to industrial action as a result of a cut in the number of staff aboard each flight, a freeze on pay and less favourable contracts for new staff.

Airline bosses believed the cuts were essential and highlighted the fact that cabin service directors at BA already earn £56,000 a year on long haul and £52,000 on short haul, the highest pay for those jobs in Britain. Most of BA's staff earns twice as much as their contemporaries at Virgin Atlantic.

Unite said the decision marked a "disgraceful day for democracy" and added that it would hold a fresh ballot unless the dispute is resolved. But the union cannot hold another vote until after Christmas, with a rescheduled strike unlikely before February.

Earlier this year, BA reported losing £401 million the year before.

Janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com