Staff shortages have been blamed for the cancellation of hundreds of flights over the weekend and into the week. Budget airline easyJet has axed nearly 300 flights since Friday.
British Airways has cancelled 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport on Monday, although the PA news agency understands that only five were last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages.
The total includes some flights axed due to last week's decision by the airline to reduce its schedule until the end of May to boost reliability, as well as routes suspended for several months because of the pandemic, such as those featuring several Asian destinations.
READ MORE: NHS adds six more Covid symptoms to official list
Why has easyJet cancelled so many flights?
An easyJet spokesperson said: "As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses easyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness. We have taken action to mitigate this through the rostering of additional standby crew this weekend. However, with the current levels of sickness we have also decided to make some cancellations in advance which were focused on consolidating flights where we have multiple frequencies so customers have more options to rebook their travel, often on the same day.
"Unfortunately it has been necessary to make some additional cancellations. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to customers on affected flights."
What easyJet flights have been cancelled
The departures information at Bristol Airport shows that easyJet flights to Murcia and the Greek island of Kos have been cancelled on Monday.
The airline says it has made 62 pre-emptive cancellations for flights to and from the UK for Monday which represents a small proportion of the total flying programme which was planned to be more than 1,645 flights.
It has since been confirmed, by the PA news agency, that at least 222 flights were cancelled across Saturday and Sunday. These cancellations have lead to some travellers being stuck abroad with no alternative routes home offered by the airline.
Simon Rudkins, 50, said he was due to return from a ski trip in the Alps with his family when the airline contacted him with less than 10 hours notice saying their flight was cancelled. He said: "We called easyJet asking for alternatives.
"We basically got told 'no, there's nothing, no flights at all. The best you can do is fly tomorrow. I probably wouldn't go near easyJet (again). Not because of the fact they've had to cancel a flight, but because they don't care and there was no explanation given."
What BA flights have been cancelled
British Airways has cancelled 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport on Monday, although the PA news agency understands that only five were last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages.
The total includes some flights axed due to last week's decision by the airline to reduce its schedule until the end of May to boost reliability, as well as routes suspended for several months because of the pandemic, such as those featuring several Asian destinations.
What to do if your easyJet flight has been cancelled
The airline says that if your flight is cancelled, there are several options available to you, which you can request quickly and easily by logging into Manage Bookings on the website or app. They advise that you can:
- Switch to another flight for free. You can search easyJet flights and make changes to your booking yourself via Manage Bookings. When making changes online, you can choose from any alternative flights on the same route. If you'd like to change the departure or arrival airport to another one within the same country, please contact our Customer Services Team, who will be happy to help.
- Choose a voucher for the full value of your booking. The voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of issue and gives you the flexibility to book travel anywhere on our network when you’re ready to fly. You can request the voucher yourself via Manage Bookings.
- Request a refund. You can get a refund for the full value of your booking. Refunds will be paid to the account you made the booking with. We’re processing refund requests within 7 days, and they may take a few extra days to come through to your bank account
What to do if your BA flight has been cancelled
The website says that if you your flight has been cancelled "you can claim a refund". You can speak to the team by contacting here.
