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Airport diverts strike threat fallout

AS THE threat of more BA strikes loomed yesterday, the region’s biggest airport said it was well prepared to protect its most popular business route against the fallout from any union action.

Newcastle International Airport (NIA) also said the BA strikes of recent weeks had - despite impacting negatively on trade at airports across the country - led to a rise in business passenger numbers to other connecting destinations instead of Heathrow.

British Airways cabin crew are likely to be balloted for further strike action in July, after the latest talks between BA and Unite union collapsed this week.

Unite has threatened to issue a fresh ballot to its members and stage further walk outs during the peak summer months if a deal over pay, working conditions and travel perks is not reached soon.

For NIA, the strikes in London have caused some disruption, while also boosted traffic among connecting business travelers to stop-off hubs such as Dubai and Paris.

Graeme Mason, head of planning and corporate affairs said: “In terms of the route [from Newcastle to Heathrow], 460,000 passengers a year travel on it so it’s the biggest single route out of Newcastle, but 50% of those passengers are connecting to Heathrow to other destinations.

“We have seen an increase in some of our other hub connections to places like Dubai and Paris.

“We work closely with the airlines to ensure that the disruption is kept to an absolute minimum and that alternatives are available. The recession has impacted on us, as well as the ash cloud and the strikes. We’ve had a challenging year but we are a robust business.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .