Airline cabin crew last week confirmed a seven-day walk out, due to start from Saturday, and although its chairman, Willie Walsh, has claimed 70% of flights should still operate, the LCCI admits the strike could damage London's competitiveness.
Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the LCCI, said: "This reckless action on the part of the union could not have come at a worse time for BA and the UK economy. Just as businesses are struggling to pull themselves out of recession and keep their employees in their jobs, we hear that New York has caught up with London in the stakes to be the leading global financial centre. This unnecessary action risks undermining London's competitiveness still further."
And speaking yesterday on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, transport secretary Lord Adonis, said: The impact this will have will not only be deeply damaging on passengers, it will... threaten the very existence of British Airways.
"The stakes are incredibly high. I absolutely deplore the strike. It is not only the damage it is going to do to passengers and the inconvenience it's going to cause - which is quite disproportionate to the issues at stake - but also the threat it poses to the future of one of our great companies in this country.
"It's totally unjustified. I do call on the union [Unite] to engage constructively with the company at this late stage."
But a spokesman from trade union Unite added: "Lord Adonis appears badly informed. We all want to avoid strike action and Unite is always ready to negotiate. Unite was preparing to put BA's offer to our members. Had they accepted it, there would be no strikes.
"However, the company withdrew that offer on Friday without explanation. Lord Adonis should publicly urge management to put that offer back on the table. Should they do so, there is still a possibility of peace. If Lord Adonis is not prepared to speak out, he risks being seen as taking the part of a bullying and intransigent management."
