British Airways is struggling to keep up with the recovery in traffic and has already scaled back its flight schedule due to staff shortages.
The airline has therefore chosen to suspend ticket sales for its short flights at London's Heathrow airport until at least Monday.
"
We have decided to take a responsible step
" as "
the entire aviation industry
" faces the challenges of restarting demand, British Airways justified on Tuesday.
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This includes giving more options to customers already with a ticket who find themselves forced to change their reservation, said the company, which has already canceled many flights recently.
British Airways had already been operating a reduced flight program for several months and had also announced in early July that it would cancel 10,300 additional flights by the end of October, bringing the reduction in its services during the summer season to 13%.
British Airways pays job surges during pandemic
Labor problems that also disrupt London's Heathrow airport, its base.
The largest British airport has limited for two months, mid-July, the number of departing passengers to 100,000 per day, 4,000 less than its forecast.
As a reminder, the carrier had escaped a strike by its ground staff at Heathrow in early July, thanks to an improved salary offer deemed satisfactory by the unions.
Read alsoBritish Airways cancels 10,300 additional flights by the end of October
British airline group IAG, parent company of British Airways, returned to profit in the second quarter for the first time since the abysmal losses of the Covid-19 pandemic, driven by the recovery in demand.
However, if the group's Spanish companies, Iberia and Vueling, pulled the group up, IAG was held back by British Airways, which had cut some 10,000 jobs during the pandemic and which is now struggling to recruit fast enough.
