Flight prices rocket as BA cancels nearly all flights

Pilots strikes by British Airways pilots have prompted fares to soar this week as rival airlines take advantage of demand.

A search by TravelMole this morning showed one-way EasyJet flights from Nice to London tomorrow (Wednesday) have rocketed to £660 to Gatwick, £611 to Stansted and £510 to Luton, and that excludes checked-in luggage or any other ‘extras’.

An easyJet flight back from Nice tonight (Tuesday) was showing this morning for £824.

Rival airlines have raised their fares substantially for journeys on strike days and later this week as stranded BA passengers scramble to rebook.

Almost all BA flights have been cancelled for the 48-hour strike, which ends at 23:59 tonight.

Yesterday only five flights took off, four from Heathrow and one from Gatwick.

The British Airline Pilots Association has said the strength of feeling among striking British Airways pilots should be a ‘wake-up call’ for the airline.

BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said: “Pilots are standing firm and have shown just how resolute they are today. British Airways needs to start listening to its pilots and actually come up with ways of resolving this dispute.”

Earlier in the day, BA chief executive Alex Cruz accused the pilots of a ‘cynical own goal’, adding that the airline was open to talks.

But BALPA told TravelMole it had given BA ‘countless opportunities to resolve the dispute, including a request to meet Cruz at the end of August.

A spokeswoman said BA ‘did not even reply’ on Wednesday September 4 when BALPA offered to call off the strike if BA would agree to discuss a proposal the union had put forward.

BALPA added: “The strike today has shown that BA pilots are resolute. The only way to end this dispute is for the company to listen to its pilots and get back to negotiations with a serious offer.”