Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Airlines 'to announce new wave of cancellations next week' as holidaymakers face more disruption

Airlines 'to announce new wave of cancellations next week' as holidaymakers face more disruption

Britain's busiest airport Heathrow reportedly has to tell officials which flights are no longer running by Friday - just as some schools begin breaking up for the summer holidays.

Holidaymakers are facing more travel disruption as airlines prepare to announce a new wave of cancellations next week and new strikes are planned in Spain.

Ryanair crew based in Spain plan to strike for 12 days this month to demand better working conditions, unions have said.

The announcement came on the final day of the crews' current strike, which began on Thursday and forced Ryanair to cancel 10 flights on Saturday.

It comes as Britain's busiest airport Heathrow has to tell officials about any further flight cancellations by Friday - just as some schools begin breaking up for the summer holidays, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The upheaval is in response to an amnesty announced last month that will allow airlines to cancel flights while still retaining take-off and landing slots next year.

In other developments:

• Flights were delayed at Heathrow Airport on Saturday after a technical fault with the airport's fuelling system
• A technical breakdown left at least 1,500 bags stuck at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport
• A passenger travelling through Heathrow described the scene at baggage claim as looking like "a disaster movie"
• The government reportedly ruled out drafting in the military to help at UK airports after Ireland put the army on standby to assist in case of further disruption at Dublin

Ryanair's next industrial action in Spain will see cabin crew strike on 12-15 July, 18-21 July and 25-28 July across the 10 Spanish airports where Ryanair operates, according to unions.

Spain-based cabin crew at easyJet are also striking for nine days this month for higher pay.

Heathrow delays


On Saturday, flights were delayed at Heathrow Airport after a technical fault with the airport's fuelling system.

The system was closed down for an hour while engineers fixed the fault.

A Heathrow spokesman told Sky News: "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."

There were long queues at Heathrow Airport this week


A passenger travelling through Heathrow described the scene at baggage claim as looking like "a disaster movie".

Adam Kent had arrived at Terminal 3 from Orlando, Florida, and said the sight "made a horrendous first impression of chaos" for international visitors.

The 59-year-old said: "(There was) lost luggage everywhere, stacked between baggage belts everyone stepping over it and no one doing anything about it.

"Being brutally honest, it looks like a serious health and safety issue.

"No one visible on the ground to explain the carnage or sort out the mess, it seems like lots of luggage has not arrived with passengers and just been dumped."

Passengers wait at Madrid–Barajas Airport.


Flying is 'too cheap', says Ryanair boss


The boss of Ryanair has claimed flying has become "too cheap" and warned fares will rise for the next five years.

Michael O'Leary told the Financial Times that high oil prices and environmental charges were expected to push the average Ryanair fare up from €40 (£35) to between $50-60 (£43-£52) over the medium term.

"I find it absurd every time that I fly to Stansted, the train journey into central London is more expensive than the air fare," he told the newspaper.

Travellers have already been hit by months of cancellations, delays and missing baggage.

Staff shortages in ground handling, airports, and flight crew, have presented major challenges as the aviation sector struggles to move into the peak season after two years of coronavirus pandemic-related turbulence.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled across various airlines over recent weeks, as capacity fails to keep up with demand - a problem also being seen across Europe.

At France's Charles de Gaulle airport, airlines have been working to deliver luggage to passengers around the world after a technical breakdown left at least 1,500 bags stuck at the Paris air hub.

It comes as some airport workers are on strike in France demanding the hiring of more staff and higher wages to keep up with soaring global inflation.

Ryanair and EasyJet airline workers rally at the gates of the Costa del Sol airport in Malaga.


The Department for Transport has temporarily relaxed rules around airport slots to help airlines avoid last-minute cancellations due to staff shortages.

It said airlines will be given a short window, described as an "amnesty", to hand back take-off and landing slots they are not confident they will be able to operate for the rest of the summer season.

It is hoped that being able to freely adjust schedules will allow airlines to run only the flights they can fully staff, ending the reports of passengers arriving at the airport to find their flights cancelled at the last minute.

On Thursday, Heathrow asked airlines to remove 30 flights from the morning peak schedule, saying that it was expecting "higher passenger numbers than the airport currently has capacity to serve".

Many passengers have also had luggage delayed or missing.

There is also the looming threat of industrial action, with hundreds of Heathrow-based check-in staff and ground handling agents voting last month for industrial action over pay.

A spokesperson for British Airways said the slot amnesty and consequent cancellations will "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".

They said that the airline "welcomes these new measures", adding: "Slot alleviation allows airlines to temporarily reduce their schedules but still retain their slots for the next year to maintain networks and provide consumers with certainty and consistency."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
First White South Africans Resettled in the U.S. Amid Controversy Over Persecution Claims
Hamas Releases Last Living US Hostage from Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
India and Pakistan Agreement on Ceasefire Amid Ongoing Tensions
Arsenal Stages Comeback to Draw 2-2 Against Liverpool in Premier League Clash
Trump's Upcoming Visit to Gulf Nations: Investment and Security at the Forefront
Rodrigo Duterte Awaits Trial at The Hague. Next week he might be elected mayor of his hometown
Trump fires director of U.S. Copyright Office, sources say
Retired British police officer arrested over ‘thought crime’ tweet
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested at ICE Facility Amid Congressional Visit
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Bill Gates Announces Plan to Wind Down Philanthropic Foundation and Disperse Wealth
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
×