British Airways and London’s Heathrow Airport have welcomed a UK government amnesty allowing them to cancel more flights in advance to avoid letting down passengers at the 11th hour.
The air industry has been under pressure from ministers and the public to address the long queues, cancellations and baggage problems that have plagued the sector’s comeback from coronavirus restrictions.
To ease the chaos before the school summer holidays, airlines have been given until next Friday to hand back airport slots they do not expect to be able to use.
These normally operate on a “use it or lose it” basis, making airlines reluctant to cut down their schedules, but the amnesty means they are now expected to plan a realistic timetable without being penalised.
“We welcome these new measures, which help us to provide the certainty our customers deserve,” a British Airways spokeswoman said.
She said the amnesty would allow BA to “consolidate some of our quieter daily flights to multi-frequency destinations well in advance, and to protect more of our holiday flights”.
A Heathrow spokesman said the amnesty was “good news for passengers” and said the airport encouraged operators to reconsider their summer schedules.
“This amnesty will enable airlines to make early choices to consolidate their schedules, boosting the resilience of summer operations and giving passengers the confidence they deserve ahead of their journeys,” he said.
Heathrow is recommending that people arrive three hours or more before their flights as passenger numbers climb back towards pre-pandemic levels.
The industry suffered another embarrassment on Friday when BBC journalist Frank Gardner, who uses a wheelchair, said he had been left trapped on a plane at London Gatwick because of a lack of assistance.
The problems at airports have been blamed on pent-up demand after the end of Covid restrictions combined with staff shortages owing to lay-offs during the pandemic.
Heathrow Airport through the years - in pictures
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Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images -
An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919 -
Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946 -
The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955 -
The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955 -
US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956 -
An aerial view showing the runways in 1958 -
The arrivals and departures board in 1960 -
A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961 -
The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965 -
The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965 -
Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966 -
Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970 -
Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971 -
Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973 -
Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976 -
Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977 -
Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978 -
Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979 -
Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981 -
British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984 -
Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 -
Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal -
Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003 -
Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003 -
Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004 -
Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period -
Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police -
Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007 -
The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008 -
Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016 -
Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century -
A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images -
Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold -
An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 -
British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 -
Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022
Ministers in Britain have promised to help recruit more people to the air industry, including by streamlining training.
But they said the onus was on airlines and airports to sort out their problems and that they would not turn to immigration to ease the staff shortages.
“With 100 days having passed since we set out that restrictions would be eased, there’s simply no excuse for widespread disruption,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday.
In Germany, by contrast, the government plans to bring in workers from abroad to ease long queues at airports.
Strikes have added to the chaos around Europe. French airport workers plan to walk out at Paris Charles de Gaulle for three days next week to press their pay demands.
