Tess De Mello, a former British Airways cabin crew member with a 30-year career, was dismissed in 2020 when the airline cut thousands of jobs due to economic pressures during the pandemic. British Airways issued redundancy notices to nearly all of its 42,000 staff, with 10,000 ultimately losing their jobs. The Unite union, which represents cabin crew members, stated that British Airways used a fire-and-rehire strategy, requiring remaining staff to accept pay cuts and demotions. MPs described this as a "national disgrace." De Mello has been involved in legal battles with British Airways since her dismissal. She described the experience as a personal ordeal, emphasizing the shame she felt over being let go and fearing how her former colleagues would perceive her. She expressed concern that they might believe she had not been selected to remain because of poor performance, despite her pride in her work. British Airways informed its longest-serving cabin crew members that they should expect a 20% basic pay cut to remain employed. Unite later reported that salaries dropped by between 15% and 35%. According to court documents for an unfair dismissal claim, De Mello was told she would be treated as if she had decided to leave when she asked for clarification of her exact salary upon rehiring and requested time to consider her decision. A judge found against De Mello and a former colleague in an employment tribunal in Reading last year. They are appealing the ruling and are also claiming they were underpaid their holiday entitlement while working part-time for British Airways. Their lawyers argue that part-time workers should be classified as "part-year" workers, similar to teachers, who are entitled to full-time holiday. They cite a 2022 supreme court ruling that part-year workers under permanent contracts are not required by EU law or domestic law to have prorated holiday entitlements. Unite stated that this shift pattern is standard across the aviation industry, meaning that if De Mello and her former colleague win their case, it could open the door to similar claims from many other cabin crew workers, potentially leading to significant financial outlays for airlines. British Airways stated that an employment tribunal in 2025 dismissed claims brought by the two claimants regarding the steps taken to avoid the collapse of the business and the loss of thousands of jobs during the pandemic. The tribunal found in favor of British Airways, determining that its actions had been non-discriminatory and fair. The airline believes the latest claims are without merit and will make this clear to the tribunal.