AIRLINE workers facing redundancy are gaining support from their local MP.

Southall MP Piara Khabra has demanded a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair after last week's announcement from British Airways that it intends to cut a further 5,800 jobs.

Adding in the cuts made after the September 11 terrorist attacks, 6,600 jobs will be lost in Heathrow Airport alone.

Mr Khabra said: "After the events of September 11, I asked the government how it intends to help keep the aviation industry afloat. More residents in my constituency work in or around Heathrow than any other constituency in the country and these people are worried.

"It is pointless for us to begin anticipating the implications of these job losses without knowing the facts and figures. We need to find out who is to be affected but quite frankly, this news could be devastating for Southall people."

The MP will meet Tony Blair at his office on February 27 and plea for a commitment of financial help to those that suffer from the redundancies.

Local agencies are also gearing up to help those about to be thrown back onto the job market.

A spokesman for Southall JobCentre said: "We are very geared up in anticipation of a potential onslaught of redundancies, although we recognise that it may take some time for those affected to filter through to us. We did a lot of work with those made redundant from the airline industry last year in terms of counselling, training courses and a new facility known as job-points. These are touch-sensitive computer screens which at the touch of a button can present thousands of jobs to the client."