British Airways has canceled almost all its flights for 48 hours, affecting as many as 195,000 travelers, due to a strike by pilots over pay.

The U.K.�s flagship carrier said in a statement Monday that it had �no way of predicting how many (pilots) would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly.�

As a result, it said it had �no option but to cancel nearly 100%� of its flights for the duration of the strike.

British Airways operates up to 850 flights a day. London�s sprawling Heathrow Airport was most affected by the work stoppage as it is the airline�s hub and is used for many of the company�s long-haul international flights.

The sprawling departure area at Heathrow Terminal 5 was almost empty, with only a handful of BA flights set to leave on Monday.

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There were no queues at any of the check-in desks or security gates and only a handful of people waiting on benches. The terminal is typically quite busy.

British Airways said it stands ready to return to talks with the pilots� union, Balpa, and that it has offered all affected customers full refunds or the option to rebook. The airline had been preparing for weeks for the strike, giving travelers advanced notice.

�We understand the frustration and disruption Balpa�s strike action has caused our customers,� it said.

�After many months of trying to resolve the pay dispute, we are extremely sorry that it has come to this.�

British Airways says it has offered pilots an 11.5% pay raise over three years but the union says its members want a bigger share of the company�s profits.

The union accuses British Airways of making big profits at the expense of workers who made sacrifices during hard times. British Airways� parent company, IAG, made a net profit of 2.9 billion euros ($3.2 billion) last year.

Union leader Brian Strutton said pilots are determined to be heard.

�They�ve previously taken big pay cuts to help the company through hard times. Now BA is making billions of pounds of profit, its pilots have made a fair, reasonable and affordable claim for pay and benefits.�

A further strike is penciled in for Sept. 27.

(AP)