Thousands of British Airways flights have been canceled in the coming months as Heathrow’s passenger cap and winter demand fall short of expectations.
By 29 October, A had canceled 629 short-haul round-trip trips after London’s busiest airport extended its limit of 100,000 passengers per day due to staff shortages.
Some 5,000 BA short haul flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports have also been canceled over the winter. This equates to about 8 percent of the airline’s flights by March 2023.
“In total, nearly two million seats will be taken from the market,” Simon Calder wrote in The Independent.
BA said it would be contacting those affected by the cancellation to receive alternative flights or refunds.
A BA spokesperson said:
“While the majority of our customers are traveling as planned and have secured key holiday destinations for half the year, we still have a few more cancellations to make before the end of October.
“In addition, we will inform customers traveling with us this winter of schedule adjustments, including consolidating some of our short-haul flights to destinations that serve multiple services.
“Customers affected by these changes will be offered alternative flights on British Airways or another airline, or the option of a refund.”
In July, Heathrow Airport imposed a passenger cap until 11 September. This meant airlines had to cancel flights and restrict seats on some trips.
On August 15th, West London Airport extended the cap until October 29th.
From May to October of this year, BA’s overall flight capacity decreased by about 13%.
Other airlines are also expected to cancel within the next two months.
