UK airlines are being urged to cancel flights they can't deliver this summer in advance to prevent a return of the travel chaos seen so far this year. The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority have told airlines that earlier cancellations are “better” than axing flights on the day of departure.
The government and the aviation regulator issued a joint letter to the aviation industry calling on companies to take “all possible steps” to “avoid the unacceptable scenes we have recently witnessed”. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and long queues at airports in recent months, particularly during Easter and last month’s half-term school holiday.
Rannia Leontaridi, director general for aviation at the Department for Transport and CAA boss Richard Moriarty set out five “specific expectations” for the sector in their letter. They wrote: “We think it’s important that each airline reviews afresh its plans for the remainder of the summer season until the end of September to develop a schedule that is deliverable. Your schedules must be based on the resources you and your contractors expect to have available, and should be resilient for the unplanned and inevitable operational challenges that you will face."
READ MORE:
The letter stated that "cancellations at the earliest possibility to deliver a more robust schedule are better for consumers than late notice on-the-day cancellations.” It also said airlines must have “the processes and resources in place to keep consumers informed” about their rights during disruption, such as having “sufficiently staffed call centres and user-friendly digital channels”.
Recent disruption has been blamed on aviation firms struggling to recruit enough staff to cope with the spike in demand for travel, after thousands of jobs were cut in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Passengers booked with easyJet, British Airways, Tui Airways and Wizz Air were among those who had plans for last month's half-term break and the Jubilee bank holiday weekend disrupted.
EasyJet scrapped dozens of flights from destinations such as Bilbao, Madrid and Seville in Spain and Milan and Palermo in Italy, while Tui Airways was forced to cancel a number of flights from Manchester Airport amid ongoing chaos.
READ NEXT:
