British Airways has made itself “king of cancellations” for the coming bank holiday weekend in the UK, scrapping more than 900 flights between Friday and Tuesday.
Aviation data company Cirium said the flights, which had been due to depart UK airports, had been removed from schedules since the start of last month.
The decision by BA to slash nearly 290,000 flights from its timetable comes as the airline wrestles with higher demand for travel and chronic staff shortages.
However, most of the cancellations were caused by staffing deficiencies across the aviation sector, which has led to caps on operations at airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick in London.
The restrictions have wreaked havoc on the summer plans of millions of holidaymakers and led to a dramatic rise in air fares.
The August bank holiday weekend is one of the busiest periods of the peak summer travel season in Britain, and this year tens of thousands of people are set to head abroad before the new school year starts.
The number of outbound flights from the UK over the long weekend is 21 per cent below 2019 levels, Cirium said.
BA, which was known as “king of the skies” during its heyday, is responsible for the largest cuts since July 1, with nearly 380 UK departures scrapped.
Flybe has removed more than 130 outbound flights from its schedules, while easyJet has scrapped about 90.
The number of cancelled inbound flights to Britain between Friday and Tuesday is also about 900, meaning the total number of seats on aircraft serving UK airports is about 288,000 fewer than planned.
Customer backlash
Some BA passengers have been hit by a number of cancellations.
"Thanks British Airways for changing our flights again from London to Edinburgh," tweeted one disappointed customer with the Twitter name McGowan. "This is our third flight now due to cancellations. Do you really think [it is] acceptable changing from 3.30 to 10 Sunday evening?"
A customer with the Twitter name Ffy on Wednesday said their flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh had been called off, "so we now have nine hours to wait" at the London airport.
Rebecca Crook said BA's delay in offering her a refund after cancelling her flight was a "customer service fail".
"British Airways flight cancelled 2 months ago now, still no refund. Any idea when you may process this?" she wrote on Twitter.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said a shortage of staff was holding the sector back from taking advantage of the post-pandemic travel boom.
“It’s astonishing to see over a quarter of a million seats cut from flight schedules at a time when demand to fly remains high,” he said.
“Some UK airports are continuing to impose caps on the numbers departing, so disrupting travel plans and forcing seat prices higher due to the squeeze on availability.
“Our aviation sector should be growing strongly on one of the busiest weekends of the year and not held back by staff shortages and poor planning by airports and ground handlers.
“There are aircraft ready to be used but not enough people to get them prepared and off the ground.”
British Airways through the years - in pictures
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British Airways has been flying for over 100 years. It was founded as Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited in 1919. All photos: Getty Images -
A British Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft taking off in 2021 -
British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics at Heathrow Airport in August 2021 -
A British Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft arrives at St Athan Airport in Wales in 2020, after setting off for its last flight -
A British Union flag flies from the cockpit of a new Airbus A380 aircraft after landing at Heathrow Airport in 2013 -
Spectators watch as the last Concorde lands at Heathrow Airport in 2003 -
British Airways Concordes at Glasgow Airport in 1983 -
David Nicholson, the first chairman of British Airways after the merger of a number of UK airlines, proudly displays a model of the Concorde in 1973 -
The first Boeing 747 to be operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation arrives at Heathrow Airport in May 1970 -
Hawker Siddeley HS 121 Trident 1C medium-range commercial jets for British European Airways at de Havillands Hatfield Aerodrome in 1963 -
A British Overseas Airways Corporation Comet III aircraft on display at Farnborough in 1954. The British Overseas Airways Corporation was formed in April 1940 -
Passengers queuing to board a British European Airways Vickers Viking aircraft in 1950 -
The British Overseas Airways Corporation Short Solent passenger flying boat docks at her new berth near Tower Bridge in London in 1949 -
A British Overseas Airways Corporation air stewardess brings a tray of coffee to passengers during a Second World War flight in 1945 -
A British Airways passenger aircraft at Gatwick Airport in 1936 -
Four Handley Page W10 and one Handley Page W9 Hampstead aircraft operated by Imperial Airways are christened by Lady Maud Hoare, Viscountess Templewood, at Croydon Aerodrome in 1926. Imperial Airways was created in 1924
