British Airways check-in staff back pay deal brokered by union

British Airways check-in staff approved a pay settlement that their union said amounts to a 13% raise.

BA employees “overwhelmingly backed” the settlement, the Unite union said Monday, after announcing last month that an agreement had been reached to avert strikes at the carrier’s London Heathrow hub.

The accord will see workers receive a lump sum worth 5% of their wages in August, a consolidated 5%  increase in September, and a further 3% consolidated raise in December.

The European aviation industry has suffered unprecedented bottlenecks and check-in chaos at airports from Heathrow to Brussels to Dusseldorf, causing airports to cap capacity. The disruption has been brought on by a blend of labor disputes, staffing shortages and cost cuts during the pandemic that are now coming back to haunt airlines, just as travel roars back.