BA halts bookings for a week to ease chaos

Week-long suspension of some Heathrow bookings blamed on staff shortages and daily passenger cap

British Airways has halted ticket sales on some short-haul services from Heathrow for a week to make room for passengers who have had their flights cancelled. The decision follows the airport’s request for airlines to limit new bookings after introducing a cap of 100,000 daily departing customers to help cope with a staffing crisis. BA has cancelled about 13 per cent of planned capacity this summer owing to a shortfall in employees and the steps imposed by Heathrow.

‘London to Edinburgh flights have been north of £400. They were doing this to deter bookings’

BRITISH AIRWAYS has suspended ticket sales on short-haul flights from Heathrow for at least a week.

The airline said the decision was made after Heathrow asked carriers to limit new bookings and introduced a limit of 100,000 departing passengers on July 12.

Heathrow has blamed a staffing crisis for the unprecedented cap that will run until at least Sep 11.

It comes just days after schools broke up for the summer holidays and will push already surging ticket prices even higher.

All ticket sales on BA’S domestic and European routes and via Morocco and Cairo have been suspended up to and including next Monday.

Last night, aviation experts said it was “very possible” that ticket sales would have to be limited for the rest of summer, including the August bank holiday. A senior source said: “I’ve never seen anything like this before.

“BA will have hated having to do this at the peak of the summer season. It completely removes them from the lucrative last-minute market at a crucial time.”

A BA spokesman said: “We’ve decided to take responsible action and limit the available fares on some Heathrow services to help maximise rebooking options for existing customers, given the restrictions imposed on us and the ongoing challenges facing the entire aviation industry.”

The UK carrier has cancelled about 13 per cent of planned capacity this summer owing to a shortfall in employees and the steps imposed by Heathrow.

Airlines and airports across Europe are struggling to meet demand as the industry rebounds strongly from the pandemic, with the London hub warning last week that the situation could persist through next summer.

The cap on sales imposed by BA is similar to measures adopted by Air France-klm’s Dutch unit in late May as signs of travel chaos this summer were emerging.

Like Heathrow, Amsterdam’s Schiphol hub – along with London’s smaller Gatwick airport – have also imposed curbs on departures. Capacity caps may have curbed passenger numbers, but they have also bolstered fares in a sector where demand was already close to matching supply on many routes.

An economy class seat with only hand baggage from London’s smallest airport, City, to Frankfurt today was as much as £417 one way, although return fares were considerably cheaper at about £190, according to a search on BA’S website. A return flight to Milan Malpensa from Gatwick was slightly cheaper at £354.

A source told The Times that BA had been artificially inflating prices on some routes to deter bookings.

“There have been times when London-edinburgh has been north of £400 one way,” he said. “They were doing this to deter bookings. Even the vast majority of business customers wouldn’t pay that.”

Rob Burgess, editor of Head for Points, the frequent-flyer website, told The Times: “It is very possible that we will see ticket sales restricted for the rest of the summer – at least until we get past the August bank holiday weekend.

“Anyone who needs to travel from Heathrow during August on a British Airways service and who hasn’t yet booked a ticket should consider booking as soon as possible in case booking is closed for additional dates.”