NEWS


Gatwick has capped flights at 825 a day in July and 850 in August as a result of a ‘severe lack of staffing resources’ among operators


Trade welcomes cuts in summer flying as airport slot rules frozen


Ian Taylor


Agents welcomed moves to cut airline schedules at the busiest airports this summer despite the additional work required to rebook customers. The government announced


an ‘amnesty’ on use-it-or-lose-it airport slot rules on Tuesday, making it easier for carriers to cancel flights without losing slots. The amnesty came after Gatwick capped flight numbers for July and August, and easyJet – the biggest operator at Gatwick – announced a cull of more than 10,000 flights. EasyJet capacity for July to


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he insisted: “The vast majority of passengers won’t be affected.” Gatwick capped capacity at 825


flights a day for July and 850 for August having previously planned to operate 900 flights a day through the summer peak, 50 shy of its 2019 capacity. It called on carriers “to implement deliverable timetables and ensure schedules are realistic”. Fred Olsen Travel


commercial head Paul Hardwick said: “The cancellations are further stretching agents but getting them in advance is preferable to


September will now be about 90% of 2019’s level, when the carrier previously planned to operate 97% or 160,000 flights. Chief executive Johan Lundgren declined to put a number on the cancellations, saying: “We need to work this through.” But


travelweekly.co.uk


leaving it late. Media reports [of cancellations] have led to numerous customers querying [whether] their holidays and flights will be impacted.” InteleTravel UK director Tricia


Handley-Hughes agreed: “Flight cancellations cause extra work, [but] it is far better to be given advance notice.” Martyn Fisher, owner of


Greenstar Travel in Surrey, added:


“Clients are asking ‘Do you know if my flight will operate?’ It’s on everybody’s minds.” In fact, the government


acknowledged the concerns of agents and their customers in its slots announcement, noting: “Travel agents have reported consumers remain nervous about flying amid fears airline cancellations will continue.” Gatwick reported it cut capacity


after a review found “a severe lack of staff resources” among operators at the airport. It said it would “wait to see about September” capacity. Heathrow has already asked


for cuts of up to 10% in airline schedules at peak times this summer. A Heathrow spokeswoman said: “British Airways has cancelled 10% of its flights. That was helpful. We want to reassure customers we’ll be able to get them away this summer.” However, carriers at Heathrow


Terminals 2 and 3 were forced to cut schedules on Monday after a


baggage-handling failure on Friday led to a build-up of bags which was only cleared on Sunday evening. BA reported it cancelled “a small number of flights” as a result. Other major airports insisted


they had no plans to cut capacity. Manchester airport reported “some ad hoc cancellations” but said: “We’re not going to impose caps.” Luton airport confirmed: “We have no plans to reduce capacity.” Bristol airport, which has suffered excessive queues, reported “a number of airlines have rescheduled or cancelled flights” but there would be no cap. Aviation minister Robert Courts


pledged to “hold the sector to account” as he announced a weekly meeting with aviation leaders. An industry source described the announcement as “partly for show” but noted: “They immediately announced the slot-use rule change. They realised airlines weren’t cancelling flights because they would lose their slots.”


23 JUNE 2022 5


PICTURE: Shutterstock/ Rich Higgins


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