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- BBC News World
2 August 2022
image source, Getty Images
The problems to travel in the United Kingdom do not stop getting complicated.
British Airways (BA) suspended until August 8 the sale of tickets for short-haul flights from the capital’s main airport, Heathrow.
The measure responds to the limit of daily passengers that the airport authorities, one of the five that the capital of the United Kingdom has and the busiest, has imposed during the summer, in response to the wave of cancellations and delays that it has been registering in the last months.
The suspension will affect BA flights with national and European destinations, the airline announced.
British airports and airlines, which cut thousands of jobs during the pandemic due to lockdowns imposed to deal with Covid-19, have struggled to hire enough staff to meet demand for the summer holidays.
without enough hands
Heathrow, in particular, has had serious difficulties dealing with the increase in the number of flights.
For this reason, in July the airport management asked the airlines to reduce their offer of tickets for the summer season, since it said that it would limit the number of passengers leaving its facilities to 100,000 daily, 4,000 less than previously planned.
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This limit will be maintained until September 11.
As BA is the largest airline serving Heathrow, is the most affected by the cut.
“As a result of Heathrow’s request to limit new bookings, we have decided to take responsible action and reduce the supply available on some services from Heathrow to help maximize booking options for existing customers, given the restrictions that have been placed on us. and the continuing challenges facing the entire aviation sector,” the company explained in a statement released to the press.
Protecting passengers?
Julia Lo Bue-Said, executive director of the travel agency association Advantage Travel Partnership, called BA’s decision “positive news” for travellers.
image source, Archyde.com
The lack of staff in British airlines and airports is the reason for the cancellations and delays that passengers have been suffering.
“It sounds quite counterintuitive for an airline to cut seats at peak times, but it’s regarding building resilience, making sure there are fewer cancellations and people who have booked are less at risk of those flights being cancelled.” he explained to the BBC.
The decrease in supply, however, is causing prices to rise of the tickets available.
On Tuesday morning, a direct flight from Heathrow to Barcelona (Spain) for this coming Saturday cost a minimum of US$795, compared to US$360 the following weekend, according to the website for purchasing air tickets Skyscanner.
Flights to Frankfurt, Germany, now cost more than $675, up from $303 the following weekend.
war of accusations
Staffing problems on board and on the ground have forced BA to cut almost 30,000 flights between April and October.
On Friday, IAG, owner of the British airline and the Spanish Iberia, Vueling and Level and Ireland’s Aer Lingus, reported that it made its first profit since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, despite the “difficult” environment.
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The British airline British Airways has had to reduce its operating capacity to 69% in recent months, due to the lack of cabin crew and flight dispatchers.
The company said that problems at Heathrow had forced BA to reduce its operating capacity to 69.1%although he expected it to rise to regarding 75% between July and October.
Last week a dispute broke out between the low-cost airline Ryanair and Heathrow, following the former blamed the airports for the crisis, for not hiring enough staff to deal with the rebound in travellers.
The airport management rejected the criticism and dismissed it as “foreign”.
“Airports do not provide ground handling services, but airlines do. It is as if we are being accused of not having enough pilots,” Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye replied.
image source, Getty Images
Thousands of suitcases are stacked in the different terminals of Heathrow airport, because they have not been able to be shipped with their owners.
Virgin Atlantic also criticized the airport, claiming it was responsible for glitches that contributed to the chaos.
Imposed limits
Emirates Airlines had initially rejected Heathrow’s request to limit the number of flights to Heathrow. However, the days accepted the request.
The crisis has taken such a turn that it has forced the authorities to intervene.
The British Competition and Markets (CMA) and Civil Aviation (CAA) agencies sent a joint letter to all airlines in which they expressed their concern regarding the prejudice that their users were suffering, due to their inability to “fulfill their obligations”.
Finally, in the letter, the state agencies admitted their suspicions that some companies were not doing everything possible to avoid cancellations and delays; and that they were selling more flights than they might materially offer.
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