UK employees strike: Air India cancels four flights

Air India has cancelled four flights to and from London scheduled for next week when a majority of public sector employees in the UK are going on a strike.

"In anticipation of strike by the public sector employees at London on November 30 (Wednesday), Amritsar-Delhi-London (AI-115), London-Delhi (AI-116), Delhi-London (AI-111) and London-Delhi (AI-112) flights have been cancelled," an Air India spokesperson said on Saturday.

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The move comes as over 7.5 lakh employees out of 26 lakh voted for the strike across four sectors = health, civil service, education and local government.

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Immigration officers at Heathrow and other UK airports are also due to join the next week's strike action against planned pension reforms.

"Passengers of the cancelled flights have been rebooked on flight AI-115 and AI 116, AI-111 and AI-112 departing from Delhi and London on December 1 on involuntary basis," the spokesperson said.

The UK Border Agency has been scrambling to find replacement staff for passport and immigration checks in order to keep Britain's borders safe.

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Tourist attractions, transport links, libraries and funeral services are also likely to be affected as up to one million local government employees would stage walkouts.

Almost 90 per cent of schools and colleges in England and Wales are expected to be closed next Wednesday as hundreds of thousands of teachers and lecturers would stage a mass walk-out over reforms to their pensions.