British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) is a branch of the British trade union Unite. It was originally formed exclusively for British Airways (BA) cabin crew, but other small branches exist representing air stewards and stewardesses at other airlines. BASSA Is headquartered at the Unite offices in Harlington, London, and also has a support office at Heathrow Airport. It provides year-round support, a secure website service for its members and an emergency number for operational issues. Originally part of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), BASSA is now part of Unite.
Effects of the April 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption ban, with later figures suggesting 107,000 flights cancelled during an 8-day period, accounting for 48% of total air traffic and roughly 10 million passengers. Following Air France-KLM's and British Airways' requests to the European Union, and additionally in the latter's case to the British government, for compensation, Gordon Brown announced that the EU Solidarity fund, designed to aid EU member states in the event of large-scale disasters, could be a possible source of compensation. The EU's competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, also said the EU was considering easing its rules on governmental subsidies to airlines. Late in April 2010, EU Transport