In the move to protest against the plans of cutting the staffing levels and the wage bills, the cabin crew of British Airways has started a 5 day strike.

The strike that involves British Airways Plc's 12,000 cabin crew is unhappy by the decision of the Chief Executive Officer, Willie Walsh's plans of downsizing in order to reverse the recorded financial losses.

Reports claim that following the dispute, British Airways cancelled flights that were scheduled to carry 25,000 people a day.

According to the reports, the negotiations to avoid the strike failed, as the British Airways Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh claimed that the Unite union, which represents cabin crew, indicated at revisiting proposals which it had previously acceptable.

Responding to the charges, Union Leader, Tony Woodley said that if the airline restored the travel perks for some of its members, he would call off the walkout.

Due to the absence of a settlement, the Unite union claims that this week's walkout would be followed by two more which would start on May 30 and June 7.

According to the experts, the two strikes over seven days in March resulted in 43 million pounds ($62 million), which further contributed to the 425 million-pound annual loss that the airlines has faced since it first sold shares to investors in 1987.

However, the British Airways spokeswoman, Laura Goodes said that the carrier's reduced timetable was operating as per the plan. She further refused to comment on the situation.

To deal with the crisis, the company has rebooked some of the passengers that it could not accommodate with 53 carriers that include Emirates, American Airlines and Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA.