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ARCHIVED - British Airways cancels 11 per cent of flights this summer
Passengers travelling from the UK to Spain warned of summer holiday airport chaos
In a drastic attempt to eliminate the need for last-minute cancellations, British Airways has made a pre-emptive move and axed 11% of its flights from the UK between April and October this year. It will come as little comfort to those whose holiday plans will be disrupted, but the airline hopes this more realistic flight schedule will allow it to better cope with staff shortages.
Sources in Britain claimed earlier this week that BA would be cancelling more than 650 flights from Heathrow and Gatwick to favourite holiday hotspots such as Spain, Portugal and Greece, affecting up to 105,000 travellers, but the airline has so far declined to comment.
"As the entire aviation industry continues to face the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions," the airline said.
"We're in touch with customers to apologise and offer to rebook them or issue a full refund," the statement concluded.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said of the airline's plan to axe 11% of flights: "While it is encouraging to see British Airways taking steps that will spare some passengers from last-minute flight cancellations, it is concerning that months on from its first round of cancellations BA still seems unsure as to how many flights it can operate each day - especially while still taking new bookings”.
The chaos isn’t confined to UK airports and airlines: last weekend thousands of suitcases piled up at Spanish airports due to issues with baggage handling companies, and hundreds of flights have been delayed to and from Spain as a result of easyJet and Ryanair strikes, which will continue throughout the month of July.
British Airways is facing more aggravation too as its check-in and ground staff are threatening industrial action later in the summer.
UK airlines have implemented an “amnesty”, giving airlines until this Friday July 8 to change their schedules without incurring penalties or losing out on landing spots, and travel insiders have warned that British tourists could be facing a raft of new cancellations before the week is out.
Image: Flight Delay Claim on Twitter
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