British Airways pause sales of short-haul tickets at Heathrow

London Heathrow, April 20, 2016: Heathrow Terminal 5 is an airport terminal at Heathrow Airport. Opened in 2008, the main building in the complex is the largest free-standing structure in the UK
By James Harrison


British Airways announced it will be suspending ticket sales for short-haul services departing from Heathrow Airport until 15 August.

This will impact flights from Heathrow to the UK, European destinations, Morocco, and Egypt. The suspension will not impact British Airways flights from other UK airports.

This follows Heathrow’s move last month to enforce a daily cap of 100,000 departing passengers per day until 11 September, in an effort to manage the ongoing crisis of flight disruptions.

“We’ll continue to manage bookings to be within the Heathrow imposed cap so we can get our customers away as planned this summer,” a British Airways spokesperson said.

The airline had already cut over 10,000 flights between the start of this month and the end of October as the aviation industry struggles with staff shortages.

Clive Wratten, CEO of the U.K.’s Business Travel Association, described BA’s decision as “very disappointing” for the corporate travel industry.

“Confidence is vital, and as we approach the end of the summer holiday period, it has never been more important for business travel,” Wratten said.

“British Airways’ suspension of last-minute sales, many of which would have been made to business travellers, is very disappointing, even if the circumstances that caused it are outside of their control.”

Smartraveller recently put out a warning about delays and cancellations at Heathrow Airport. The website reminded travellers to plan ahead, contact airlines to confirm flights, ensure travellers take out travel insurance that covers for flight cancellations, be prepared for long wait times at the airport, and have contingency plans.

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