Airlines set to announce more cancelled flights as they’re given slot amnesty

The last few months have not been smooth for many trying to get on a flight (Picture: Getty/PA)

More flights are set to be cancelled over the summer as airlines have been told to come up with a realistic schedule to avoid the sort of disruption seen over the past months.

Usually, if too many flights are cancelled then airlines will be penalised for not using their allocated runway slot, and can have it taken away from them.

But government regulations are now going to allow a one of ‘amnesty’ on the slot rules, with the hope of helping airlines deliver a more realistic timetable over the summer.

It means that flights cancelled or removed from schedules before this Friday will not mean airlines risk losing slots.

But it is understood that flights cancelled or removed from airline schedules after the Friday deadline will not fall under the slot amnesty.

British Airways and Heathrow Airport welcomed the measures intended to help prevent last-minute flight cancellations over the summer.

Slots are used to manage capacity at the busiest airports, giving airlines authorisation to take off or land at a specified time on a specified day.

Passengers queue inside the departures terminal of Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport on June 27 (Picture: Reuters)

Airport workers stand next to lines of passenger luggage arranged outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow on June 19 (Picture: Reuters)

Airlines must use slots a certain amount of times each season in order to keep them.

A spokeswoman for British Airways said: ‘We welcome these new measures, which help us to provide the certainty our customers deserve by making it easier to consolidate some of our quieter daily flights to multi-frequency destinations well in advance, and to protect more of our holiday flights.’

A spokesman for Heathrow said the slot amnesty is ‘good news for passengers’, adding: ‘This amnesty will enable airlines to make early choices to consolidate their schedules, boosting the resilience of summer operations and giving passengers the confidence they deserve ahead of their journeys.

‘We encourage airlines to take this opportunity to reconsider their summer schedules without penalty and inform passengers as early as possible of any changes.’

Last month, the Department for Transport (DfT) said it would give airlines a short window to hand back slots for the rest of the summer season that they are not confident they will be able to operate.

‘This will help passengers find alternative arrangements ahead of time, rather than face the kind of last-minute cancellations seen over the Easter and half-term holidays,’ the department said.

This week, Heathrow ordered flights to be cancelled because it could not handle them, while on Saturday delays were expected due to a technical fault in the airport’s fuelling system, which was temporarily closed down for an hour.

A Heathrow spokesman said: ‘A technical fault with the airport’s fuelling system has now been resolved.

‘We are working with all airport partners to minimise disruption, however flights out of Heathrow this afternoon may be subject to delays.

‘We apologise for any impact this has on people’s journeys.’

On Thursday and Friday passengers at the airport complained of long queues, cancelled flights and lost baggage as “schedule intervention” and disruptions at UK airports were exacerbated by strikes in Spain.

The threat of industrial action is also continuing to loom in Britain after union members voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay – although no dates have been announced.

BA staff are demanding the 10% of pay they had “stolen” from them last year as they faced “fire and rehire” tactics during the pandemic.