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British Airways and the union representing the airline's 12,000 cabin crew both claimed they held the upper hand on the second day of a three-day strike Sunday.

BA said it was reinstating at least 26 flights after so many cabin crew ignored the strike and turned up for work, but the Unite union dismissed its claims as "spin".

The airline said 97 percent of cabin crew scheduled to work Sunday at Gatwick had turned up, while the figure at Heathrow was 55 percent.

The previous day, BA said 1,157 cabin crew had reported for work at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, accounting for 97 percent of crew on duty at Gatwick and just over half the scheduled staff at Heathrow.

But the union claimed that over the weekend, of 2,220 cabin crew rostered to work, only 300 were believed to have turned up.

It also said half of BA's 250 planes had been grounded on the first day of the action and it had turned Heathrow's flagship Terminal 5 into a "ghost town".

"Contrary to the spin from the company about this strike collapsing, only five cabin crew have broken ranks and 80 have gone sick," Unite's joint leader Tony Woodley said.

With the union threatening another walkout for four days from March 27 targeting the busy Easter holiday period, Woodley appealed to the BA board to bypass the defiant chief executive Willie Walsh and resolve the dispute.

"I am now appealing to the BA chairman and sensible members of the board to use their influence, put passengers first, and return to the negotiating table for the good of everyone.

"It is quite obvious this strike is in no-one's interest. We need a negotiated settlement," Woodley said.

He accused BA management of intimidating workers, after he saw TV pictures of some striking workers covering their faces, which he said left him "ashamed".

He told his members: "It is now crucial that you all stay solid with the union, even if you are scared by management's tactics."

In a video statement Sunday, Walsh praised the staff's performance during the industrial action and said the airline had coped well.

"We promised we would keep BA flying, that's exactly what we've done," he said.

A poll showed public opinion was against the strike. In the ICM survey for BBC radio, 60 percent of those questioned believed the walkout was "unjustified" while only 25 percent expressed support.

Passengers who were able to travel said the strike had nonetheless complicated their journeys.

Diane Huntley, 50, and her daughter Robin from Maine, New England, had to make a nine-hour bus trip from Edinburgh when their connecting flight to Heathrow was cancelled. The pair were on the way to Boston.

"My heart sank when we found out it was cancelled and it affected the holiday," Diane Huntley said.

BA said it would operate eight long-haul flights and 18 short-haul flights which it had earlier expected to cancel. Destinations included Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Cape Town.

As well as using non-striking staff, the airline is offering travellers seats on planes leased from other carriers, including budget airline Ryanair.

The union is bitterly opposed to the loss-making airline's cost-cutting measures, which would see some of the most lucrative pay and perks packages for cabin crew in the airline industry substantially downgraded.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has condemned the strike and urged BA management and workers to hold fresh talks.

But with a general election expected to take place in May, the main opposition Conservatives have accused the government of a limp response to the strike because Unite is a major donor to Brown's ruling Labour party.

AFP