BA tries to poach rival cabin crew staff with £1,000 bonus

British Airways is offering new cabin crew a £1,000 "golden hello" as the airline battles to recruit workers.

The company says it will pay new employees £500 after three months and the rest after six months - but only if they can start before July.

Airlines and airports are struggling to find new staff after making steep cuts at the height of the pandemic.

BA and others have been forced to cancel flights due to resurging demand ahead of Easter and not enough staff.

One barrier to recruitment is that airline workers have to pass stringent security checks which can take several weeks or months to process.

BA says applicants must have an airside ID for either Heathrow or London Stansted Airport as well as having completed cabin crew safety training, suggesting the company will look to rival airlines for staff.

It also says that cabin crew who are not able to commence training prior to July this year if, for example, they have to work a long notice period, "may not be eligible for the welcome bonus".

Since the beginning of the year, BA has cancelled about 1,200 flights due to staff shortages and Covid-related absences.

Earlier in 2022, BA cancelled flights due to stormy weather, which also caused delays in unloading baggage from planes. Some flights were also affected by IT issues resulting in luggage piling up and passengers stuck on planes after they landed.

The airline cut around 10,000 staff due to the pandemic and the restrictions placed on the travel industry. However, last year it began rehiring staff.

The transport industry as a whole is facing a challenging Easter as many people prepare to travel for the first time since Covid hit in early 2020.

The AA motoring organisation estimates that around 27.6 million car journeys are expected to take place over the Bank Holiday weekend.

There will be disruption to train travel as some lines are closed for engineering work.

People have also seen cross-Channel ferry services cancelled between Dover-Calais, which will continue over the weekend after a second P&O Ferries ship failed another safety check by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

P&O Ferries apologised to people who had booked Dover-Calais journeys with the company, adding it had made alternative arrangements for those customers, including its Hull-Europoort service to Rotterdam, or booking them onto Brittany Ferries services between Portsmouth and Caen.

It added: "We also recognise that these options will not be suitable for everyone, therefore any customer who booked directly with P&O Ferries will be able to claim a full refund and a free trip for future travel."

There are also long queues of lorries on roads approaching the Port of Dover.

"All our polling suggests that Good Friday will be the busiest getaway day for Easter trips and staycations," said AA president Edmund King. "If some drivers can leave on Thursday or early Saturday, they may miss some of the jams."