British Airways on Wednesday canceled a further 10,300 short-haul flights until the end of October as the aviation sector struggles with staff shortages and booming demand as the pandemic abates.
The airline, owned by conglomerate International Airlines Group (IAG), added in a statement that it has now canceled 13 percent of its total summer schedule.
BA is among the hardest hit by industry-wide turmoil as airlines struggle to cope with rising demand following the lifting of Covid travel restrictions.
“The aviation industry as a whole continues to face significant challenges and we are fully focused on making our operations more resilient to give customers the peace of mind they deserve,” the airline said in a statement, after receiving hundreds of announced flight cancellations this summer.
The latest move, meanwhile, comes less than two weeks after BA workers at London Heathrow Airport voted to strike over pay this summer as rising inflation erodes wages and sparks growing industrial unrest in Britain.
Airline ground staff at Heathrow voted more than 90 percent to strike.
Wednesday’s news also comes after the UK government recently offered “slot alleviation measures” allowing airlines to temporarily reduce flight schedules while retaining valuable takeoff and landing time.
“While taking further action is not where we wanted to be, it is the right thing to do for our customers and our colleagues,” BA added on Wednesday.
“This new flexibility means we can further reduce our flight schedule and consolidate some of our quieter services so we can protect as many of our leisure flights as possible.”
The group tried to reassure customers but acknowledged it would have a significant impact on travel plans.
“While most of our flights are unaffected and the majority of customers will get away with it as planned, we do not underestimate the impact this will have and are doing everything we can to get their travel plans back on track,” added BA.
“We will be in touch with you to apologize and offer rebooking options for new flights with us or another airline, or issue a full refund, as soon as possible.”
In a vote of confidence in the aviation sector’s long-term recovery, IAG last week ordered eleven Airbus A320neo aircraft and three A321neo aircraft, valued at $1.7 billion.
The London-listed conglomerate recently forecast a return to full-year profit after cutting Covid-related losses as travel restrictions were eased.
The group slumped into annual losses in 2020 and 2021 as Covid ravaged global demand for international air travel, forcing BA and its rivals to shed thousands of jobs.
IAG owns several airlines, including Ireland’s Aer Lingus and Spain’s Iberia.
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