British Airways: 24-May – 28-May contingency plans – more than 60,000 customers a day to fly

All flights at Gatwick will operate as normal as will flights to and from London City airport during the entire strike period.

The size of the schedule at Heathrow, will be similar to that previously announced ahead of the cancelled first strike period. At Heathrow, British Airways intends to operate more than 60 per cent of longhaul flights and more than 50 per cent of shorthaul flights in the strike period (May 24 to 28) and it will add to this schedule where possible.

At this stage British Airways expects to fly more than 70 per cent of customers who hold a booking between May 24 and May 28. This equates to more than 60,000 customers flying each day. Many thousands more will be able to use seats we have secured on more than 30 other airlines to reach their destination, if they still wish to travel or be rebooked onto an alternative BA flight departing within the next 355 days. Refunds are also available for customers whose flights have been cancelled.

The airline will operate most of its revised shorthaul schedule at Heathrow using its own aircraft and cabin crew, but will supplement its schedule by leasing up to eight aircraft with pilots and cabin crews from other UK or European airlines.

Customers in the UK wishing to rebook their flights can visit the airline's website, www.ba.com, or contact the airline on 0800 727 800 which is a free telephone line. British Airways has opened up an extra call centre manned by staff volunteers to help customers with rebooking and refunding queries

British Airways' flight programme is complex, involving the combination of rosters for 13,000 cabin crew, more than 3,000 pilots and 230 aircraft operating schedules. More than 8,000 flight and cabin crew have to be in the right place at the right time, either on aircraft, at airports or in crew hotels in more than 140 cities in more than 70 countries, every day.

Customers are advised to check ba.com on a regular basis to see if their flight is still operating before departing for the airport. If their flight has been cancelled they should not come to the airport but contact British Airways or their travel agent.

Key points of British Airways' schedule for customers:

Flights to and from London Gatwick will operate as normal.

Flights operated to and from London City will operate as normal, including services to and from New York.

More than 60 per cent of longhaul services into and out of London Heathrow will operate as planned between May 24 and May 28. The airline may be able to add to this schedule in the days ahead.

The airline will be able to operate more than half of its shorthaul flights into and out of London Heathrow between May 24 and May 28. The airline may be able to add to this schedule in the days ahead.

Flights operated by subsidiary OpenSkies between Paris and New York and Paris and Washington will operate as normal. Flights operated by British Airways franchise partners (Comair in South Africa and Sun Air in Scandinavia) will operate as normal. Flights operated by other carriers (including oneworld Alliance partners) which have a BA codeshare flight number will operate as normal.

All dedicated cargo freighter services continue to operate as normal.