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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Christopher Megrath

Paul O'Grady backs upcoming BA strikes after nightmare flight

Paul O'Grady has come out in favour of the upcoming strikes at BA after experiencing the chaos first-hand.

The Birkenhead-born comedian was forced to wait on a plane journeying from Amsterdam's Schipol Airport for two hours as the pilot gave passengers multiple excuses before telling them their baggage was stuck in a holding area.

In a series of rants posted to Instagram, the 67-year-old made it clear he wasn't happy, stating he was "fit to f****** kill" and would have preferred to spend time in a jail cell. He said: "The captain pops his head out now and then with endless lame excuses and he’s just informed us that the luggage is stuck in some holding area and cannot be reached so if we do take off then it’s without luggage.

READ MORE: BA, easyJet and Ryanair strike update amid 'gruelling summer of travel chaos' warning

"Tempers are rising and I’m fit to f****** kill as I’m supposed to be going to a reception at The House of Lords in aid of The Paul Cottingham Trust which isn’t going to happen."

The final addition to his travel updates saw Paul finally at home where he issued his support for the upcoming strikes. He said: "The airports are chaotic so I'm just warning you now if you're travelling. I'm dreading July because I've got to go away then. I'm going from Gatwick and that's when the strikes are on and it's going to be a living hell, imagine it. If you see someone doing a bad Donald Duck having a temper, that's me. So just ignore me.

"All I'd like to say is good luck to British Airways when they go on strike because they knocked 10% off your wages during the pandemic and they refused to reimburse you and that's not on. So come on, fair play BA, cough up. Swines."

The strikes will see British Airways staff disrupt their services in a bid to claw back the 10% wage decrease implemented during the pandemic. Roughly 700 workers in a range of positions including check-in and ground workers will bring Gatwick airport to a halt after during the summer holiday season after they recorded a 94.7% vote in favour of the strikes.

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