About 12,000 members of Britain's biggest trade union, Unite, staged a walkout at midnight on Friday, after last-minute talks aimed at preventing a British Airways strike fell through.

Thousands of travelers are expected to encounter chaos during the three-day strike, as slightly more than half of the approximately 1,950 flights scheduled to operate are set to be cancelled. However, British Airways has vowed to maintain the flight plans of at least 60 percent of passengers by using staff who are not striking, as well as leasing planes from other European airlines.

Second strike planned

In a video message on the company's web site, British Airways CEO Willie Walsh said he was "very disappointed" that the company hadn't been able to reach an agreement, but reassured customers that the airline had "well-prepared" contingency plans.

The cabin crew are staging the strike to protest 70 million euros ($95 million) in cutbacks aimed at combating dropping passenger numbers, rising fuel costs and growing competition from budget airlines.

A second walkout is scheduled for four days beginning March 27, just in time for the busy Easter holiday period.

With the British general election just weeks away, the dispute has increased the pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose ruling Labour party is strongly supported by the Unite trade union. Conservatives have called on him to sever ties with the union organizing the strike.

smh/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Stephanie Siek