British Airways Dismisses Second Worker for Taking Part in Gate Gourmet Strike

LONDON_British Airways said Thursday it has dismissed a second worker for taking part in a walkout that grounded hundreds of flights at Heathrow Airport last year.

BA said the employee had been found guilty of gross misconduct for walking out in support of striking staff at the airline's catering company, Gate Gourmet Inc.

The strike - involving hundreds of baggage handlers, loaders and bus drivers - forced British Airways to cancel an estimated 900 flights in August, inconveniencing about 100,000 customers.

The stoppage was estimated to have cost British Airways about 45 million pounds (US$81 million; €67 million).

The airline announced last month that two other workers had been found guilty of gross misconduct. One, who was found to have helped orchestrate the BA strike, was dismissed, while the other received a final written warning, was suspended for a month without pay and lost air travel privileges.

The three workers have the right to appeal.

The dispute began when Gate Gourmet, which is owned by private equity group Texas Pacific, fired more than 660 employees for staging an unauthorized walkout over working conditions in August. The British Airways employees walked out in support.