Heathrow airport continues to limit the number of passengers - and therefore flights. London's busiest airport informed the airlines on 15 August that to extend its capacity cap until the end of October. Since June, the airport limits to 100,000 the maximum number of passengers. This represents 25,000 fewer passengers than in summer 2019.
Heathrow being the main hub for British Airways, this limitation is forcing the British airline to make drastic cuts in its capacity. The situation is also exacerbated by the shortage of staff at both the airline and the airport.
The carrier is talking about cancelling some 10,000 flights between now and the end of March, i.e. 8% of its total offer.. "We are making adjustments to our short-haul schedule for the next two months (...) We will have to make further cancellations until the end of October", a British Airways spokesman told Reuters. The airline will be offering re-routing and alternatives to passengers affected by these cancellations.
Ryanair steps up to the plate
This slimming down of British Airways is making ultra low-cost Ryanair very happy. No sooner had BA announced that it was dropping 10,000 flights from its timetable, Ryanair said it was putting more than a million extra seats on sale on its British programme this winter.
And she emphasised that she was doing it to to compensate for British Airways cuts. "The extra seats are in response to BA's announcement to cancel eight per cent of its winter schedule due to staff shortages and capacity reductions at 'Hopeless Heathrow'," the airline said in a statement. Ryanair does not serve Heathrow, but mainly London's Stansted airport. The airline also takes off from Gatwick and Luton - major bases for its competitor Easyjet.
Between now and December, the airline will be offering up to 5% more flights than in its 2019 programme. Ryanair has also stated that its winter programme in the UK will be the biggest in its history. The airline is also adding flights from all the UK airports it serves. Some twenty in all.
