British Airways (BA) sought a court injunction Tuesday to prevent a 12-day strike by cabin crew that would cause havoc for one million travelers over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

British Airways PLC said it was seeking to stop the planned walkout on the grounds that the Unite union ballot of some 13,000 members contained "irregularities," including votes from people no longer employed by the airline.

The carrier said that was a "clear breach" of trade union and labour laws, rendering the strike vote invalid.

The case will be heard in the High Court "as quickly as possible," the company said.

"We are absolutely determined to do whatever we can to protect our customers from this appalling, unjustified decision from Unite," BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh said in a statement. "We do not want to see a million Christmases ruined."

Changes in work practices

The planned strike, from December 22 to January 2, follows a dispute with cabin crew over job losses and changes in work practices.

BA plans to cut 1,700 jobs, freeze pay for current staff and offer lower wages for new employees.

BA has said sweeping changes are necessary to cut costs after the airline was hit by a downturn in passenger demand due to the global economic crisis. It posted a net loss of £208 million (US$346 million) for the six months ending in September, its first-ever loss in the period, as revenue fell 13.7 per cent.

Analysts estimate the strike will hurt company profits even more, costing the airline up to £30 million (US$49 million) each day during a time when it normally operates 650 flights and carries 90,000 passengers a day.

Strike irregularities

BA said it had sent three letters to Unite since last Friday "highlighting irregularities" in the ballot and had given the union a Tuesday deadline to call off the action, but had received no reply.

Unite announced Monday that cabin crew had voted nine to one in favour of the strike in a ballot with 80 percent turnout.

Walsh added the airline remained open to resuming talks with the union "without any preconditions".

BA also revealed on Monday that its pension deficit has risen to £3.7 billion, from £2.1 billion in 2006, and said it would talk with employees about a recovery plan.

The union said the work changes, introduced in mid-November, have prevented members from doing their jobs properly and were imposed in breach of contract.

Cabin crews agreed last month to fly with reduced staffing after failing to win a court injunction banning the changes until a High Court decision on the dispute is due February 1.

If cabin crews do go on strike, it will be the first since three days of strikes in 1997.

- AP