Thomas Cook pilots have gone on strike for 12 hours from 3am BST this morning in protest over year-on-year, real-terms pay cuts, cuts to terms and conditions and their frustration with the company’s intransigent stance during negotiations. This is the first time in 40 years that British pilots have gone on strike, according to the British Airline Pilots’ Association, which has urged Thomas Cook to put forward a pay offer that their pilots can accept.
General Secretary at BALPA Brian Strutton said: “Going on strike is not something pilots take lightly. BALPA members haven’t been on strike since 1974, but with no sensible pay offer on the table, Thomas Cook pilots have had no other option.
Thomas Cook, which has rescheduled some flights, has reiterated that it has set out a “fair pay increase of 1.75% in year one and 2.25% increase in year two, on top of automatic pay increases, in what is a very competitive environment”, adding that BALPA has not moved from its demands for a pay rise which adds up to “more than 10%, or around £10,000 per pilot”.