British Airways (BA) faces a wave of strikes by cabin crew next week after trade unions today won the latest stage in a bitter dispute with the troubled airline, according to dpa. The Unite trade union said a five-day walkout by some 13,000 cabin staff would begin Monday, the first in a series of stoppages due to last until June 9. Unite won a legal battle in the Appeal Court in London Thursday, overturning a court injunction obtained by BA to stop the strikes, which had originally been due to start this week. BA said Thursday it was "disappointed" with the court decision, but would implement contingency plans aimed at keeping 70 per cent of passengers flying. BA, which has had a troubled relationship with trade unions, is due to publish annual results for the financial year up to the end of March 2010, on Friday. The figures are expected to show record losses of up to 600 million pounds (862 million dollars) for the 2009/2010 financial year, following losses of 401 million pounds in the previous year, reports said Thursday.
