British Airways Cuts 10,000 Winter Flights

British Airways (BA) is to reduce its winter flights from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) as staff shortages continue to worsen.

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DALLAS - British Airways (BA) is to reduce its winter short-haul flights from London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) by 8% as staff shortages continue to worsen, dealing another crushing blow to the United Kingdom's crown airline.

10,000 European short-haul services, as well as hundreds of long-haul services, are affected by BA's most recent flight cancellations. At current rates, this translates to 4,000 seats each day, or between 1.8 and 2 million seats from the end of October 2022 to the beginning of March 2023.

The news comes on the heels of the contentious flight cap imposed at LHR, which restricts the number of passengers allowed through its gates to 100,000 per day. The cap is expected to last at least until October 29 and maybe until 2023.

In order to adhere to its agreements regarding the flight cap, BA management has also disclosed that the airline will eliminate 12 daily roundtrips from Heathrow (629 flights) between now and the end of October, according to thepointsguy.com.

Photo: London Heathrow Airport

What can Travelers Expect?

As many UK families travel on international trips in the last week of October, the carrier said it would also be safeguarding important holiday spots throughout the half-term.

“Following Heathrow’s decision to extend its passenger cap, we’re making adjustments to our short-haul schedule for the next two months,” a BA spokesperson added. “While the vast majority of our customers will travel as planned and we’re protecting key holiday destinations over half-term, we will need to make some further cancelations up to the end of October.”

British Airways has assured affected customers that it will offer refunds or alternative flights with BA or other airlines.

Featured image: British Airways. Photo: Daniel Gorun/Airways

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