British Airways has agreed a deal ‘in principle’ with its pilots’ union to avoid threatened strike action.

A BA spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have agreed a pay proposal in principle with the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), which will now be put to members with a recommendation from the union.”

Balpa says after ‘long and difficult negotiations’ the proposed pay cut has been dropped.

Balpa General Secretary Martin Chalk said, “Members in BA have suffered a prolonged period of pay deductions following the COVID pandemic. Balpa has now negotiated an agreement in principle to remove this pay cut and deliver a pay increase in 2022 whilst paving the way for pay negotiations for 2023. 

BA struck a deal with engineers and ground staff last month to avoid industrial action.