Smash hit

The mood in the check-halls was one of resigned frustration rather than anger, although passengers expressed concern that tempers could flare as thousands more people booked on later flights arrived at the airport west of London.

Alan Wild, 50, a human resources director due to fly to Geneva from Terminal Four, said he was trying to organise another flight, with budget airline easyJet. "It's such a frustrating experience. I'm completely furious," he said.

Natalie Wright, a DJ due to fly to Boston, said: "I'm just praying that the flights will be back on. I need to get to this gig tonight."

She added: "I'm just trying to stay calm at the moment. I know that there's nothing I can do and I think people are accepting their fate just now. Whether they will still be calm later on, I don't know."

Union officials said the problem was caused by Gate Gourmet's imposition of new pay and conditions on its staff. Tony Woodley, the TGWU general secretary, accused the catering company of behaving in a "disgraceful" fashion and said it had unilaterally decided to reduce the pay of its staff.

"It does not want to talk and it does not want to compromise," Mr Woodley said. "It is a classic American union-busting exercise. BA must put pressure on this company."

The union said it had no information about any secondary action among BA staff. Secondary strike action has been unlawful since the early 1980s and can bring damages claims or dismissal.

But a TGWU shop steward at BA, Satpal Sangha, told Times Online: "We are sorry for the passengers but the responsibility lies with the Gate Gourmet company. They have left us with no choice but to take this action.

"We have every sympathy for the travellers trying to get out of Heathrow, but it is out of our hands."

Gate Gourmet also provides in-flight catering at other airports across the UK, including Gatwick, Glasgow, Bristol and Newcastle. The company says it is trying to change outdated working practices to improve productivity in the face of huge losses.

The company insisted today that the workers who had been sacked would remain sacked because their actions had jeopardised the livelihoods of its entire 2,000-strong workforce at Heathrow.

Eric Born, the managing director, said that the company had met the union on more than 30 occasions and had made it clear that it was facing a financial crisis. Mr Born said that if changes to working practices were not agreed, the company would not survive.

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