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In a last ditch attempt to avoid a mass walkout, British Airways will apply for an injunction against a 20-day cabin crew strike at the High Court tomorrow.

The first of four five-day walkouts is scheduled to begin at 12.01am tomorrow and the other walkouts are due from 24 May, 30 May and 5 June with a 24-hour gap between each.

BA hopes to lessen the impact of the strikes by flying seven out of 10 passengers to their destinations, with the help of auxiliary crew and chartered jets.

BA hopes to repeat its high court victory in December, when a 12-day Christmas strike by cabin crew was forbidden due to strike ballot irregularities.

BA will argue at the high court hearing that Unite did not, as required under the 1992 Trade Union Act, ensure that members were told of the result as soon as possible.

In a statement to the court, BA warns that the walkouts will cost the airline £138m. "Loss and damage arising from the proposed strike action has been conservatively estimated at £138m, even with the full implementation of contingency measures whereby BA hopes to operate all its services out of Gatwick airport and between 60% and 70% of long-haul flights and 50% of short-haul flights out of Heathrow.”

The strikes would be a double blow for the airline which has been affected by the latest volcanic ash cloud coming from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull.

Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, which represents BA cabin crew, said it was watching the situation closely and would “seriously consider” calling off its first strike if the ash cloud cancelled British Airways flights.

“You would have to be stupid to want to ground planes that are going nowhere anyway,” he said.

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