'This is a cynical attack at an emotional time of year'

Passengers told today how their Christmas plans face being ruined by the strike action. They accused cabin crew of acting "cynically" by walking out at one of the busiest times of the year.

City accountant Mandeep Baura, 29, of Victoria, was due to fly from Heathrow to Vancouver on Christmas Day for his honeymoon but may now have to cancel the trip.

Mr Baura said: "I have spent the past day looking for alternative flights but that's pretty much not an option. We're looking at prices of more than £2,000 for the two of us. That's quite a premium."

Mr Baura booked the flights in August after saving up 250,000 air miles for the two-week trip.

He said: "My frustration is with the unions. I think they are probably being a bit heavy-handed. I think they have mis-advised their members."

A group of 20 churchgoers who were due to fly out from Heathrow for their annual Christmas pilgrimage to Lourdes in France on 23 December may now also have to cancel their journey.

Father Michael Coleman has taken the group, who are mostly from the London area, on the annual trip for the past 15 years. He said: "A number of the group are widows and older people who live on their own or are simply lonely at Christmas."

John Tangney, who runs Tangney Tours and is a spokesman for the Association of Independent Tour Operators, said: "All our members are very concerned.

"We don't consider this a reasonable strike. It is a cynical attack on the poor travelling public at an emotional time of year. The cabin crew want to force BA into submission."

Travellers will struggle to secure alternative flights because of a lack of availability and face paying hundreds of pounds more than the BA flight they originally booked on.

BA has said it will offer refunds and allow passengers to change to different airlines free of charge if prices are similar, but prices on other airlines shot up immediately after the strike was announced.