British Airways wins bid to stop Christmas strikes

LONDON - A threatened crippling strike by British Airways (BA) cabin crew over Christmas and New Year was halted Thursday by court proceedings in London, pending a possible appeal, the High Court said.

The court granted an injunction sought by BA to declare the strike ballot invalid on technical grounds. More than 13,000 unionized cabin staff voted overwhelmingly Monday to stage 12 days of strikes starting from next Tuesday.

BA said they were “delighted” at the decision that would spare millions of passengers travel misery over Christmas.

In an initial reaction, the trade union Unite said the court decision marked a “disgraceful day for democracy”.