The decision to halt new bookings on domestic and European flights until Monday is to respect Heathrow’s passenger capacity cap, the airline confirmed. In a statement, BA said: “As a result of Heathrow’s request to limit new bookings, we have decided to take responsible action and limit the fares available on some Heathrow services to help maximize rebooking options for existing customers, given of the restrictions imposed on us. and the ongoing challenges facing the entire airline industry.” The unprecedented move will result in thousands of seats being removed from sale and potentially increase demand and inflate prices with rival companies. Tens of thousands of flights have already been canceled this summer as the industry struggles to cope with demand for air travel amid staff shortages. Heathrow announced last month that it would not allow more than 100,000 departing passengers a day until September 11. BA had earlier responded to Heathrow’s passenger capacity cap by announcing it would cancel 10,300 flights until October, with one million passengers affected. BA’s suspension of short-haul flights from Heathrow comes after many passengers flying to and from the UK’s busiest airport have suffered severe disruption in recent months, with long security queues and baggage system breakdowns. Middle Eastern airline Emirates rejected Heathrow’s order to cancel flights to comply with the cap. The airline accused the airport of showing “blatant disregard for consumers” by trying to force it to “deny seats to tens of thousands of travellers” through the cap. A Heathrow spokesman said at the time that it would be “disappointing” if “any airline wants to put profits ahead of a safe and reliable passenger journey”. Virgin Atlantic also criticized the airport’s actions and claimed responsibility for failures contributing to the chaos. Meanwhile, on July 21 the airlines were accused of “harmful practices” in the treatment of passengers affected by the disruption. The Competition and Markets Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority issued a joint letter to air carriers, expressing concern that “consumers could suffer significant harm unless airlines meet their obligations”. The letter said: “We are concerned that some airlines may not be doing everything they can to avoid one or more harmful practices.” These include selling more tickets for flights “than they can reasonably expect to provide”, not always “fulfilling obligations” to offer flights on alternative airlines to passengers affected by cancellations and failing to provide consumers with “sufficiently clear and advance information about their rights”.
