BRITISH AIRWAYS’ chief executive, Willie Walsh, faced with the threat of a Easter strike by cabin crew, has called for volunteers from other parts of the company’s operations to serve on flights.

Members of the Unite union were blocked by a court order from going on strike over Christmas, but they now plan to vote again for strike action in protest at plans to cut their pay and working conditions.

However, Mr Walsh, in an e-mail to staff last night, said the union is refusing to recognise that “a seismic shift in our industry” has taken place, causing a £1 billion fall in revenues from business-class passengers. “I know many of you will once again be appalled at the distress a strike would cause our customers and the damage it will do to our company – especially when so many of you have already made sacrifices,” he wrote.

He would now be “asking for volunteers to back BA by training to work alongside cabin crew who choose not to support a strike, so we are ready to keep our customers flying as much as we possibly can if this strike goes ahead”.

Unite’s joint leader Tony Woodley attacked the move as a “provocative” attempt to disrupt negotiations.

The new cabin-crew ballot is expected to take a month to complete. The union had initially planned to strike for 12 days over Christmas, but the High Court declared the action unlawful because some people who had left the airline had voted.