Flights delayed as BA staff strike again

British Airways cabin crew have launched a new five-day strike, as a bitter dispute with management over pay and working conditions drags on with little sign of a breakthrough. BA said flights to and from Heathrow, one of Europe's busiest hubs, will be affected by the walkout. But the carrier said it can operate more than half of its services because more cabin crew than expected had decided to cross the picket line.

It said all flights will operate at the smaller Gatwick and London City airports. Cabin crew walked off their jobs on May 24 and began the new round of strikes today after talks collapsed on Friday. They plan to strike for another five days from June 5, if a solution to the long-running dispute is not found. Seven days of walkouts in March over the same dispute cost BA about Stg43 million ($63 million).

The airline said it planned to fly more than 70 per cent of its long-haul flights, compared to the 60 per cent it operated during last week's strike action. Fifty-five percent of short-haul flights will take off, slightly more than the 50 percent last week. Heathrow airport's Web site showed that many outgoing flights were scheduled to fly, but a handful of BA flights arriving from places including South Africa, Washington DC and Egypt had to be canceled this morning.

*AP