In an unprecedented move, British Airways has taken all short-haul flights from its main base, London Heathrow, off sale until 9 August at the earliest.
BA, which operates more than half the flights from London Heathrow airport, said: “We’ve decided to take responsible action”.
While intercontinental flights are still on offer, imminent domestic and European departures are blocked to new sales.
These are the key questions and answers.
Why has BA done this – has it simply run out of seats?
No. There are still empty seats on many of the airline’s Heathrow departures.
This decision, which will cost the airline a fortune, has been made for two reasons:
BA has already cancelled tens of thousands of Heathrow flights because it doesn’t have enough resources to operate them, but it appears that may not be enough.
Why is the Heathrow cap in place?
Three weeks ago the UK’s biggest airport said there were “some critical functions in the airport which are still significantly under resourced, in particular ground handlers”. These are the companies that airlines use to provide check-in staff, load and unload bags and manage the arrival and departures of aircraft.
Earlier in the summer, says Heathrow, when departing passenger numbers regularly exceeded 100,000 a day, there were unacceptable “queue times, delays for passengers requiring assistance, bags not travelling with passengers or arriving late, low punctuality and last-minute cancellations.”
Cut the number of departing passengers, believes Heathrow, and you reduce the risk of everything unravelling. So a limit of 100,000 has been imposed between now and 11 September.
Don’t airlines usually make hay while the sun shines?
They certainly do. Carriers have accumulated huge debts during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are desperate to pay it down, and the summer of 2022 should provide that opportunity.
At times of high demand – and this summer is extreme in terms of people wanting to fly – airlines can make prodigious profits from selling the last few seats shortly before departure. The last seats on this morning’s Ryanair flight from Manchester to Alicante sold at £336 one-way, for example, compared with just £27 three months from now for the identical 1,050-mile flight.
For a leading global airline like British Airways to decide to stop selling tickets from its main base to UK regional airports and Continental Europe in what should be the most lucrative month of the year is unprecedented.
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