The airline warned on Tuesday it would cancel additional flights in the coming weeks as it struggles to deal with disruption and staff shortages, shortly before airport workers said they were preparing to walk out on the first weekend of the school holidays. The Unite union said members employed by Aviation Fuel Services – one of four companies that provide refueling services at the UK’s busiest airport – will hold an initial 72-hour strike from July 21 to July 24 in a dispute for the fees. He warned the strike would cause “significant disruption and delays” because the company provided services to nearly 70 airlines operating at Heathrow – although he added there was still room to reach a deal “if AFS comes back to the negotiating table”. The threat of the strike spreading will add to the woes of airlines as they try to prevent a repeat of the delays and cancellations that hit passengers during the UK school term last month. BA’s operations at Heathrow will not be affected by any industrial action at AFS as it uses different refueling companies. However, the airline faces the possibility of a strike by around half its staff at Heathrow, which could potentially take place this weekend — although unions Unite and GMB are yet to set a date for action. BA announced on Tuesday that it would further cut its summer flight schedule as the aviation sector faced “the most difficult period in its history”. It is also said to be considering whether to cut even more flights later this week after the UK government announced an amnesty for strict rules forcing airlines to use or lose lucrative take-off and landing slots.

BA unveiled plans in May to cut 10 percent of flights during its summer season, which runs between March and October, to try to boost reliability in its flag operations. The carrier has now decided to cut a further 1 per cent, equivalent to around 1,500 flights, the majority of which will take place this month. By axing the flights early, BA management hopes to avoid the last-minute disruption that hit some UK airlines early last month, resulting in chaotic scenes as many passengers learned of flight cancellations after arriving at airport. But the need to lose more flights is a blow to the airline and chief executive Sean Doyle, who had hoped the decisive action in May would allow the group to operate its full schedule. BA is understaffed after cutting around 10,000 staff during the pandemic, but has also suffered from wider resource problems facing the entire industry, including airports, ground subcontractors and air traffic control staff. “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 give them a full refund,” the airline said in a statement. Other airlines, including easyJet and Lufthansa, have been forced to take similar measures to cut routes after overestimating how many flights they and their suppliers could deliver this summer.