ROD EDDINGTON, chief executive of British Airways, has said he will take tough decisions after launching a review of management failures that led to chaos at Heathrow last week, costing the airline up to £10 million.
Attention is focused on three senior directors after 10,000 passengers were stranded when 70 flights were cancelled on Monday and Tuesday. Mike Street, customer services and operations director, Mervyn Walker, UK airports director, and Peter Read, Heathrow operations director, are all fighting to retain their positions, according to reports within the company.
Any move against Mr Street would be particularly controversial as he recently agreed a three-year pay deal with BA’s 11,300 baggage handlers and ground staff.
Mr Eddington said of the review: “It will be a very thorough investigation and the action appropriate. I will take tough decisions if necessary but I’m not flying into decisions.”
A spokeswoman for BA confirmed that it was giving 17,500 staff two free tickets each. She said: “It’s in recognition of the fact that the Heathrow operation has been under-resourced recently, which has put extra pressure on those members of staff. It’s a way of saying thank you.”
Advertisement
The tickets, worth £4 million, will be given to check-in staff, baggage handlers, engineers, call centre workers and cargo workers, she said.