British Airways cancels
10,000 more flights at London Heathrow
By
23 August 2022
The decision
is taken to minimise the risk of disruption during the winter and will mainly
affect short-haul flights, according to the British company, which assured that
travellers affected would be offered an alternative.
Already
affected by flight cancellations during the summer, Heathrow will welcome fewer
passengers this winter. British Airways, the third-largest European airline,
has announced that it will cut 10,000 passengers to and from the London airport
between the end of October and March. Most of the cancellations will be on
routes with other daily services to the same destinations, the company said in
a statement. British Airways warned that some long-haul flights will be
affected as well.
The changes
will reduce the airline’s capacity this winter by around 8 per cent. A total of
290 return flights are expected to be operated daily by British Airways this
winter.
“After
Heathrow’s decision to extend its limits of passengers carried to 100,000 per
day due to staff shortages, we are adjusting our short-haul flight schedule“, justified
the company. “Customers booked for the winter will be able to
travel as planned and will be notified several months in advance of any changes,” it added.
These
cancellations come just a few weeks after the chaos observed on site, due in
particular to the lack of staff. Overwhelmed by the resumption of air traffic
after the Covid-19 crisis, the airport was unable to make up for its shortage
of employees. Its CEO, John Holland-Kaye also points to the lack of “ground
managers employed by airlines to staff check-in, load and unload and prepare
planes for take-off“. In July, British Airways cancelled around
10,300 flights from the start of August to the end of October.
However,
British Airways’ announcement should not impact users, according to aviation
consultant John Strickland. Asked by the BBC, he says the number of cancelled
flights seems to be “very negligible” compared
to the company’s activity. “At this stage, the
cancellations are likely to inconvenience very few people and I do not expect
any noticeable impact on prices,” he added confidently.
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