‍LONDON — British Airways (BA) has revealed the secret to the decrease in flight delays at London Heathrow (LHR) in recent years: Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

The airline claims that a £100 million investment in AI has helped it better manage flight operations and reduce scheduling disruptions, with a twofold increase in punctuality compared to 2024.

British Airways’ AI system tracks thousands of data points across multiple sources, including weather patterns, crew availability, and maintenance logs. With a push for improved customer experience post-pandemic, BA has begun tackling reliability and customer satisfaction issues.

Despite these improvements, BA and other airlines are still facing sizable challenges related to maintaining scheduling consistency, according to mylondon.news. Flight delays are still more common than before COVID-19, and recent travelers continue to experience long delays, especially during peak seasons.

With the aviation industry under pressure to maintain both trust and consistency with the public in the aftermath of recent years’ large-scale staffing shortages, logistical errors, and cancellations, BA indicates that the new AI implementation is only the beginning of a series of related improvements expected to be unveiled to the global network in coming months. 

The effectiveness of such integrations in meeting travelers’ expectations is up in the air; BA's experiment with AI could become the blueprint for how AI can—or cannot—reimagine the future of commercial air travel.