British Airways passengers feared to face chaos after pilots confirm strike

Thousands of holidaymakers are expected to face disruption as they received emails early Saturday from British Airways (BA) to say their flights had been cancelled due to confirmed pilots strike across three days in September.

The BA email to customers warned flights on September 9, 10 and 27 would be hit by a "large number of delays and cancellations."

The British Airways customer service lines were jammed on Saturday morning with travellers looking to find alternative arrangements.

Some passengers who had been due to fly on Sept. 8-12 have been told their flight have been cancelled, and to rebook or get a refund.

Many angry passengers messaged the company on Twitter with their frustrations, some complaining they would miss weddings and honeymoons.

The British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) said the airline had rejected its proposals to settle a long-running pay dispute and that it had "no choice but to call this action."

The union said 93 percent of members voted in favour of the action after rejecting a pay rise package of 11.5 percent over three years.

A company statement said: "It is completely unacceptable that Balpa is destroying the plans of tens of thousands of our customers with this unjustifiable strike action."