Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Flight cancellations: Airlines and airports unable to say when threat to summer holiday getaways will end

Flight cancellations: Airlines and airports unable to say when threat to summer holiday getaways will end

All five of the airlines contacted by Sky News failed to provide an answer after they were asked to say when customers would know for certain that no more cancellations would take place.

There appears to be no end in sight for the uncertainty facing air passengers worried about whether their flights from the UK will be cancelled this summer.

All the airlines contacted by Sky News were unable to give a date when no more flights would be cancelled ahead of the busy holiday period.

It comes after Heathrow asked airlines on Monday to cut 10% of flights at two terminals, while easyJet started cancelling thousands of summer flights.

Also on Monday, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, talking about the cancellations in general, said the problem was going to continue right throughout the summer.

Sky News asked easyJet, BA, Tui, Wizz Air and Vueling, all of which have reported cancellations in the last few weeks, when it will be known that there will be no more cancellations.

None provided a clear answer to that question.

In addition, none of the airports where cancellations have occurred provided an answer to the same question, with most saying it was for airlines to comment.

This is despite Transport Secretary Grant Shapps telling travel bosses to "do their bit" to resolve the problems causing chaos at airports after meeting with airport chiefs as well as airlines earlier this month.

Tens of thousands of half-term holidaymakers were left stranded abroad due to flight cancellations during the half-term holidays at the end of May and start of June and there are fears that the scenes could be repeated during the summer break.

Some of the easyJet cancellations are believed to have come after Gatwick Airport announced it was limiting its number of daily flights to 825 in July and 850 in August to help passengers "experience a more reliable and better standard of service".

It is thought this could mean the cancellation of up to 10,000 of 160,000 easyJet flights on sale for July, August and September, although the airline's chief executive Johan Lundgren said on Monday the company had not decided how many cancellations there might be during those months.

Which airports are affected?


Most of the airports Sky News contacted said they were not expecting to see any cancellations.

Luton, Stansted, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports all said they have not had to cancel flights or cap capacity over the summer.

But Gatwick confirmed what they reported last week, adding that its cap was designed to "to help prevent short notice and last-minute cancellations".

Heathrow said in addition to British Airways removing 10% of its summer schedule from the airport: "As a precautionary step (and in line with what other EU hub airports like Frankfurt and Amsterdam have also done), we have also worked with airlines in the last month to determine available capacity for check-in at various points throughout the day.

"We then engaged with airlines well in advance of these expectations to enable them to either re-time or consolidate their flights to ensure passenger check-in experiences were safe and to smooth the peaks on airline check-in staff."

What do the airlines say?


EasyJet, which on Tuesday evening still couldn't provide a figure on the number of cancellations, said impacted customers would be "notified directly in the coming days".

It said: "We continue to work through the flying programme to finalise the flights impacted. The vast majority of customers' flights will not be impacted and of those that are, the majority of customers will be rebooked within 24 hours. We will be notifying affected customers directly in the coming days with information on their alternative flight or the option to rebook or receive a refund."

A spokesperson added that while the majority of those who are impacted will be rebooked for free within 24 hours, any customers who are unable to transfer to another easyJet flight for free within 24 hours will be able to rebook with alternative carriers and will be reimbursed for this and any other reasonable expenses incurred as a result of their flight cancellation.

BA said that the vast majority of cancellations that have been reported are not new, but were pre-planned and actioned around a month and a half ago, and customers were notified at the time.

The company says it reduced its schedule by 10% (around 8,000 roundtrips) until the end of October as a result of resource challenges and around 85% of affected passengers have arrived at their destination within 24 hours of their original scheduled arrival.

A spokesperson added: "We've taken responsible pre-emptive action to amend our schedule in order to help provide more certainty for our customers, and are giving them maximum flexibility to either rebook with us or another airline as close to their original departure time as possible or to receive a full refund."

Tui said it planned to notify people as soon as possible if their flights are cancelled, adding: "While flight delays and cancellations with us are rare, unfortunately the increase in people going on holidays combined with complex operational and supply chain issues, meant that a very small number of TUI holidays were impacted over the first weekend of the May half term period.

"Our holidays rely on a complex system of services. This includes our own pilots and cabin crew, as well as operational partners that cover things like check-in, baggage and catering. Alongside that, we work closely with air traffic control and airport security teams. Our planes cannot take to the skies when these systems are not working together as they should be.

"This was an extraordinary situation and we took more than 230,000 people on holiday over the half term week. Our flights are now operating as usual and we are doing everything we can to ensure customers can look forward to enjoying their summer holidays as planned."

Wizz Air and Vueling had yet to comment by the point of publication.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×