British Airways will axe an additional 10,000 flights from its schedule to and from Heathrow this winter.
The BA services will be cut between the end of October and late March when the summer 2023 schedule will commence.
Heathrow announced the extension of its current daily cap on passenger numbers to the end of the summer schedule on October 29 last week. The airport has so far made no decision on whether to extend the cap through the winter.
BA said the fresh cancellations were aimed at minimising disruption over the winter and would chiefly affect short-haul flights although some long-haul services could be affected.
It pledged to protect “key holiday destinations over half-term” in October.
Most of the cancelled flights will be on routes with multiple daily services.
Affected passengers will be offered an alternative flight with BA or another airline or a refund.
In a statement, BA said: “Customers booked for winter will be able to travel as planned and are being given several months’ notice of any changes.”
Aviation industry sources described the cap on passenger numbers at Heathrow as “a necessity” last week and warned the airport was “still fragile”.
One source told Travel Weekly: “Heathrow’s resilience is still fragile. The cap has been exceeded on several days. It wouldn’t take a lot to cause widespread disruption.”
A second source insisted: “The reason there has not been disruption is the cap. Unfortunately, it’s a necessity.
“It’s something Heathrow wants to lift as soon as possible, but they are still worried about the ground handlers.”