Heathrow asks airlines to cancel 10% of Monday flights as UK travel chaos worsens
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Monday 20 Jun 2022
(Sharecast News) - Britain's Heathrow airport has asked airlines to cancel 10% of their flights on Monday as the airport faces a baggage backlog, adding to the embarrassing travel chaos already gripping the country and piling on more misery for passengers.
Problems with the west London airport's baggage system left hundreds of travellers waiting for more than three hours during the weekend to retrieve their luggage, with no explanation from staff.
Airlines that had already cancelled flights included Virgin Atlantic, Flybe, Air France, Air Canada, TAP Portugal, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Brussels Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Aer Lingus, Eurowings, Lufthansa and KLM.
"We apologise unreservedly for the disruption passengers have faced over the course of this weekend. "The technical issues affecting baggage systems have led to us making the decision to request airlines operating in Terminals 2 and 3 to consolidate their schedules on Monday 20th June," a spokesperson for the airport said.
"This will enable us to minimise ongoing impact and we ask that all passengers check with their airlines for the latest information."
UK airports and airlines have been hit by staff shortages caused by Brexit and mass firings during the Covid pandemic. Hundreds of flights being cancelled in recent weeks with passengers complaining of delays at security checkpoints and at immigration control.
On Monday morning low-cost carrier easyJet announced plans to cut more flights over the busy summer period, as it apologised to customers for failing to "deliver the service they have come to expect from us".
A number of flights will be cancelled into and out of Gatwick in response to the airport's announcement last week that it would introduce flight caps in July and August to help it cope with a staff shortage.
The airline has blamed staff shortages in ground handling and at airports, as well as air traffic control delays for increased turnaround times, delayed flights and cancellations.
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