Safety Concerns
I agree that this is an emotional issue and has been made so mostly by BASSA. However, I believe that when removal of staff travel was first announced, BA indicated they were doing so in part as a cost saving measure. In other words, those who cost the company revenue and expense would have to shoulder the burden of added cost savings.
Remember, staff travel actually costs BA taxes that have to be paid to HMRC along with catering, fuel and back office expenses.
Given those points, I don't see this as a punishment but as a legitimate way for BA to save costs and fairly allocate those cost saving measures to the employees that directly cost the company money.
TB