British Airways said today a 48-hour strike by cabin crew members of its largest union had been cancelled.
"Negotiations with the T&G (union) have resulted in an agreement that removes the threat of strikes," Chief Executive Willie Walsh said in a statement, adding the company would reinstate as many cancelled flights as possible.
"Unfortunately, the decision has come too late to prevent disruption to the travel plans of tens of thousands of our customers tomorrow [Tuesday] and Wednesday," Mr Walsh said.
Last week, the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) called a 48-hour strike by cabin crew from Tuesday unless there was agreement on issues that include sick-leave policy and pay. The T&G threatened two further 72-hour strikes in February.
As a result, last Thursday BA cancelled 1,300 flights scheduled for this week.
The dispute with the union centres around BA's sick-leave policy and its two pay scales for cabin staff.
BA says cabin crew were taking an average of 22 sick days per year before Mr Walsh took charge in October 2005 and that under a new absence policy the figure had fallen to 12 days.