British Airways offers £1,000 'welcome bonus' to cabin crew with security clearances

British Airways has offered £1,000 “welcome bonuses” to cabin crew with security clearances after staff shortages led to delays, cancellations and queues of frustrated passengers at airports.

Airlines and airports have been struggling with staffing problems caused by coronavirus related sicknesses and an increase rise in passenger numbers.

In a new recruitment campaign, it is offering cash incentives to cabin crew “who hold a current Heathrow or Stansted airside ID”.

“For candidates who are successfully offered a role through this campaign, we’re offering a welcome bonus of £1,000 — paid in two instalments — £500 after your first three months, £500 after six months in role,” the advertisement said.

Carriers and airports are struggling to recruit more staff because of delays in processing security checks, which can take up to 15 weeks.

Heathrow Airport has advertised for 12,000 more staff as passengers have faced long delays and chaos over the Easter holidays. It has also drafted in staff from across the UK to ease the backlog.

Travel industry analysts expect the situation will get worse at the height of the Easter getaway as thousands head to airports on Good Friday.

More than 20,000 people have been affected by cancellations so far, British Airways and easyJet have accounted for three-quarters of all flights affected last week.

British Airways has stipulated that recruits must be able to start work before the summer to be eligible for the cash incentive.

“Applicants with a notice period or other circumstances which prevents them from being able to commence training before July 2022 may not be eligible for the welcome bonus,” it said.

The staffing crisis arose after thousands of airline staff were put out of work during the pandemic.

Now, the rapid rise in travel volumes has put pressure on airports and the carriers that use them to prepare for operations after two years of stop-and-start business.

Good Friday is likely to be the busiest day of Easter, with 2,430 flights scheduled to leave the UK and more than 9,000 to fly over the bank holiday weekend.

Heathrow said it expects summer travel season 2022 at its peak to approach 2019 levels.

EasyJet's chief executive Johan Lundgren said the airline is waiting for the Department for Transport to give permission for about 100 members of staff to start work.

EasyJet has cancelled hundreds of flights in recent days, mainly on routes serving Gatwick Airport in West Sussex.

Mr Lundgren said this was primarily the result of high levels of coronavirus-related staff absences but also blamed the time it takes for the government to vet recruits.

Passengers check-in at a crowded Heathrow Airport. PA

“There’s a backlog there and we’re waiting currently for about 100 cabin crew to get their IDs,” he said.

“There’s a three-week delay on that. That has had an impact. If that would have been on time, we would have seen less cancellations.”

The government denied there are delays.

“There are absolutely no delays to security vetting of applicants,” it said.

“It is wrong to suggest otherwise, and we are prioritising vetting applications from the aviation industry.

“It is for the aviation industry to manage resourcing at airports and staff absences, especially at busy times of the year.”

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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer