British Airways cancelled another 1,500 flights, most of them for July.
Tens of thousands of people will be affected by the cancellations that were made in recent weeks.
As air travel increases in demand, the industry has struggled to find qualified staff.
British Airways had already taken 10% off scheduled flights between April & October but stated that more reductions were necessary.
The spokesperson for the airline, which is the largest in the UK, stated that they had taken pre-emptive measures earlier this year to lower our summer schedule and give customers as much notice as possible regarding any changes to their travel plans.
“As the aviation industry faces the most difficult period of its history, it is regrettable that we have to make further reductions.”
According to the carrier, it was in contact with customers to “apologise” and offer to rebook or issue a full reimbursement.
This cancellation comes before Friday’s deadline announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) last month for an amnesty that gives airlines a brief window to return airport slots in the summer seasons they are not sure they can operate.
BA will likely announce more cancellations this summer, ahead of the deadline.
Airport slots allow airlines to fly at a specific time and land at a particular place on a given day. If they cancel flights, carriers could lose their slots. This is common in most cases.
British Airways was also affected Wednesday by an unusual “schedule intervention” by Heathrow Airport.
Heathrow requested airlines to reduce 30 flights from Thursday morning schedules because it was expecting more passengers than it could handle.
It took the initiative to ensure that there was enough security personnel on hand for all passengers.
These cancellations are due to the fact that hundreds of British Airways staff at Heathrow have decided on strike dates, which could further impact peak summer school holiday travel periods.
Many jobs in aviation were lost in the Covid pandemic. It was difficult for airports and airlines to recruit enough staff to meet the demand.
Gatwick already stated that it will reduce summer flights due to staff shortages. This was before the amnesty for airport slots was announced.
Manchester Airport warned that it won’t be able return to pre-pandemic standards before the autumn.
Last-minute cancellations of flights during Easter and Half-term holidays affected thousands of passengers.
The Civil Aviation Authority, the government’s aviation regulator, wrote to airlines to inform them that they could deliver their summer schedules based on what resources they and their contractors expected to have.
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