It is the last day for airlines using UK airports to cancel flights without fear of being punished as part of efforts to give certainty to passengers who are understandably nervous about their long-awaited holiday. summer.
The so-called amnesty for slots was announced last month by the government when it became clear that the sector could not guarantee a smooth summer getaway after months of disruption.
The return of COVID’s unrestricted international travel has proved problematic for airports and many airlines across Europe because they lack the staff to meet the high demand for getaways.
It has caused widespread frustration, especially during school holidays and holiday weekends, with passengers having to endure long queues, delays and last-minute cancellations.
Some airlines and airports introduced their own capacity cuts to try to improve the situation.
Figures from industry regulator CAA show that only about 10,000 – or 1.6% of flights – were canceled during the first five months of the year.
Since then, airlines have been accused of breaching their obligations to passengers by the consumer group Which ?.
It has ruled on the behavior of airlines towards its customers in general, but has lodged complaints with the industry regulator about BA and easyJet, the UK airlines for having cut the higher volumes of services of their schedules this year in the middle of the battle to secure more workers.
Last month, the government allowed the amnesty, giving carriers a little over a fortnight to temporarily return the take-off and landing strips that could not operate.
Under normal circumstances, they would normally lose the slots they do not use.
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During the amnesty, BA has announced several rounds of cuts in flights that affected tens of thousands of passengers, mainly due to flying from Heathrow and Gatwick.
The latest, revealed Wednesday, meant 13% of its summer programming would not fly this year.
The airline said the latest cancellations would affect its less popular routes to better protect holiday flights.
EasyJet, like BA, has also been eliminating flights in advance at a fairly old pace in recent months, but has faced special criticism for last-minute cancellations.
He is believed to have used the amnesty to abandon some 11,000 more services, while his chief operating officer abruptly resigned earlier this week.
EasyJet has no plans to cut more services as it works with affected passengers to secure their summer trips.