British Airways is not alone in cancelling flights beyond the summer – Lufthansa confirmed it will cancel an unspecified number of services this winter following a substantial number of cancellations this summer due to airport staff shortages.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines has also announced it will axe up to 1,600 flights this autumn.
Lufthansa confirmed it would cancel flights from its winter scheduled from late October to March 26 in order “to be able to offer passengers a reliable and predictable flight schedule”.
The cancellations will chiefly affect intra-European and domestic German flights and services with multiple frequencies
A Lufthansa spokesperson said the cancellations were being made because the staff shortages, in particular at Frankfurt airport, have not significantly improved.
The airline said it could also make changes to flight times from October.
German travel trade publication FVW reported travel agencies had complained that customers were being notified of flight cancellations when the flights were still appearing on agency booking systems.
SAS announced plans to cancel up to 1,600 flights in Europe or 4% of its schedule, blaming staff shortages and delayed aircraft deliveries for the service reductions. However, the carrier said flights during the autumn holiday would not be affected.
BA confirmed this week that it would axe an additional 10,000 flights from its schedule to and from Heathrow this winter.
The services will be cut between the end of October and late March when the summer 2023 schedule begins.
BA said the fresh cancellations were aimed at minimising disruption over the winter and would chiefly affect short-haul flights. It pledged to protect “key holiday destinations” over the October half-term.
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.”
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