More than 100,000 travellers, including those planning to visit popular holiday destinations such as Malaga, Palma and Faro, will be affected, although BA will mainly cut routes with multiple daily departures. And in the latest threat to the summer getaway, Heathrow workers who refuel planes for 70 airlines including Virgin, KLM, Air France and Emirates announced a 72-hour strike on July 21 in protest at a three-year pay freeze. A strike by the 50 Unite members who work at Aviation Fuel Services, one of four aircraft fueling companies at Heathrow, could disrupt and delay flights at the start of the summer holidays. British Airways has a separate supplier and will not be directly affected. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Oil and gas companies are making huge profits, so AFS has the wherewithal to make a proper bid.” BA, which in the spring axed around 10% of its scheduled flights until October, decided to further curtail its schedule after the government offered a “slot amnesty” last month. The move allowed airlines to temporarily reduce operations without losing the right to valuable landing slots at busy airports, which are usually awarded on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. A British Airways spokesman said: “We took precautionary measures earlier this year to reduce our summer schedule to give customers as much notice as possible of any changes to their travel plans. “As the entire airline industry continues to face the most difficult period in its history, it has unfortunately become necessary to make some further reductions. We are in contact with customers to apologize and offer to rebook them or issue a full refund.” The airline did not dispute figures reported to the Telegraph, of 650 further cancellations in July, and it is understood a similar number of flights are being removed from the August schedule. BA’s owner IAG’s share price fell a further 3% on the news. Its market value has fallen 40% in just over four months as optimism about a post-Covid recovery in travel gave way to a series of negative headlines about aviation’s failure to cope with demand. In May, BA cut capacity by around 8,000 flights for the summer, in a move it said would ensure resilience. It now plans to run just under 80% of its pre-pandemic schedule after the latest cut, a decision that highlights how recruitment remains a challenge. Subscribe to the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk The airline sacked thousands of cabin crew and ground staff in 2020 and rehired the rest on inferior terms and conditions. It said it was forced to take drastic measures to survive when the coronavirus grounded all flights, leaving it facing losses of up to £20m every day. Airlines and airports are scrambling to rehire staff but have struggled in a tight labor market and long waits for background checks and security clearance. Long queues and chaotic cancellations have already spread over the Easter and half term at departure lounges across the UK, even before the peak holiday season begins. The threat of strikes by BA ground staff at its main base at Heathrow remains. Unite members have voted in favor of action and are insisting on 10% pay cuts during the pandemic. BA is not alone in its problems, with its biggest UK rival easyJet announcing on Monday that it has parted ways with its chief operating officer Peter Bellew. The budget airline last month also canceled around 10,000 flights from its summer schedule, reducing overall capacity from 97% of pre-pandemic levels to around 90%, as it tries to recover from weeks of delays and last-minute cancellations. .
