British Airways planes are seen at the Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, July 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKa
London: British Airways announced the cancellation of about 1,500 additional flights, most of which were scheduled for July 2022, due to a shortage of employees working in the aviation industry with the recovery of demand for air travel. The wave of cancellations over the past weeks will affect tens of thousands who wish to travel this summer from the British airports of Heathrow and Gatwick.
British Airways had previously cancelled 10 percent of scheduled flights between April and October, but the airways said that "regrettably," more cancellations were needed to be made.
A spokesperson from British Airways, which is the UK's largest airline, said: "we took pre-emptive action earlier this year to reduce our summer schedule to provide customers with as much notice as possible about any changes to their travel plans."
"As the entire aviation industry continues to face into the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions," he added.
According to BBC Radio 4, the British Airways is expected to announce more cancellations during the summer before the deadline.
The cancellations come as hundreds of British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow Airport are deciding on strike dates that could further affect the peak travel period of the summer school holidays.
Many jobs have been lost in the aviation industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, and recruiting enough staff in a timely manner - to cope with the increase in travel demand, has proved difficult for airlines and airports.
