Dear Reader

THE boss of British Airways, Sean Doyle, is a down-to-earth, hardworking Irishman. He’s good company and has wide experience of the aviation business. Presumably, he’s also well-paid, with all sorts of tasty perks.

But few people would envy his job right now. This week, BA axed another 10,000 flights from its winter schedule in what’s being seen as a pre-emptive strike to limit further chaos in a few months’ time or, as a spokesman put it, to ‘protect key holiday destinations’ over the October half-term.

That 10,000 figure is roughly the same as the number of jobs BA dispensed with at the start of the pandemic.

I’ve no idea if 10,000 bags have gone missing at BA’s Terminal 5 at Heathrow — but I bet far more than 10,000 attempts have been made to reach BA’s call centres.

You might think Doyle’s job would be under threat after a string of damaging headlines. You might even conclude that he should offer his resignation as some sort of gesture to appease his adversaries. A willing scapegoat. But would a new boss at BA put an end to the turbulence? Probably not.

And one thing in BA’s favour is that despite what’s been going on in the past few years — especially Doyle’s predecessor insisting on short-haul passengers paying for a bottle of water — there’s still a residual affection for the national carrier.

Or, at least, a hope that it might one day claim again to be ‘the world’s favourite airline’.

For now, the To Fly. To Serve. motto sounds vacuous.

On a brighter note, the UK Government no longer advises against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka (Galle, pictured), a move which coincides with the lifting today of the state of emergency in the country — although it’s still experiencing a ‘severe economic crisis’.

Aren’t we all? But Sri Lanka’s reliance on tourism is huge. Booking a trip there now or into next year will resonate more than ever.