British Airways is cancelling flights to more than 70 destinations in a bid to avoid continuing travel chaos during the peak summer holiday season. Around 650 flights affecting 105,000 passengers will be axed from Heathrow and Gatwick airports in the coming weeks.
Services to popular holiday destinations such as Palma de Mallorca, Faro (Portugal), Malaga (Spain) and Greek capital Athens are expected to be among the locations hit. A spokesperson for British Airways said the aviation industry was going through the most "challenging" period in its history, the Express reports.
The airline stated: "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. We’re in touch with customers to apologise and offer to rebook them or issue a full refund."
The national flag carrier suggested the cancellations would make it "easier to consolidate quieter daily flights to multi-frequency destinations well in advance and to protect more of our holiday flights." However, more widespread cancellations are expected throughout the summer period.
Airlines and airports are facing severe staff shortages after the Covid pandemic with many workers leaving the industry and difficulties recruiting replacements. Paul Charles, the chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, warned that there could be more cancelled flights in August.
He said: "It is a sign that the airlines don’t believe people will come into the industry in time for July 29, the busiest time of the year. If the airlines thought they were going to be having enough people, they would not need to make so many cuts."
A Department for Transport spokesman said airlines had to offer schedules they could "realistically" deliver.
He said: "We have asked the industry to develop schedules they can realistically deliver over the summer, and welcome plans that will provide certainty to passengers ahead of time rather than last-minute cancellations. Airlines must do the right thing and offer to re-book passengers and inform them of their refund and compensation rights."
The mayhem continued on Monday with passengers at Manchester Airport reporting long queues stretching from the terminals to car park areas. There were also lengthy queues reported at Heathrow and London City Airports, with passengers labelling it as "utter chaos" and "out of control."
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