BA's future in negotiators' hands, says boss
The future of British Airways is in the hands of negotiators who will meet this week to try to resolve the row over swipe cards, according to the airline's chief executive.
Rod Eddington, who will meet union leaders over the next few days, said he was confident of resolving the row which led to travel chaos last week.
It also threatens a summer of disruption at Britain's biggest airports.
The chief executive is to meet Sir Bill Morris, general secretary of Britain's Transport and General Workers Union tomorrow, and leaders of Amicus on Tuesday in a bid to break the deadlock.
He admitted that the wildcat strike by check-in staff, which led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights at Heathrow and delays for over 80,000 passengers, had been a "real setback" for BA.
He told BBC's Breakfast With Frost it was "critical" that he was now in the centre of moves to resolve the dispute.
Talks between the two sets of negotiators would resume on Tuesday following his meeting with the general secretaries, Mr Eddington said.
"The future of BA is in the hands of the negotiators. It is important for all of us to reach a sensible and rapid conclusion," he said.
It was essential that the third union involved in the row, the GMB, was also involved in the talks, he said, adding: "We have to sit down and find a way to alleviate the concerns some of our staff have about the swipe cards."
