Expect a flurry of flight cancellations as amnesty deadline day arrives

Passengers should expect a flurry of flight cancellations today, the last day of the amnesty that allows airlines to temporarily suspend schedules without losing their berthing slots.  

The amnesty, which comes to an end on July 8, was implemented by the government after it became clear the airlines were going to struggle to recover following the pandemic.

Staffing issues had seen many flights grounded at short notice resulting in last minute cancellations, ruining many holidays and leaving others stranded.

Airlines have according to industry insiders been working hard to reshuffle schedules to take advantage of the amnesty, but they do believe that some will have either held back their changes to the last minute or will have struggled to make the changes. That they say will result in a flurry of flight schedule changes and cancellations today.

With both the government and the industry blaming each other for the failings, the chief executive of Heathrow Airport had warned it could take 18 months for the situation to return to normal.

According to the CAA around 1.6 per cent of flights have been cancelled so far this year, that’s a little under 10,000 in six months.

Many of the cancellations have been badly handled by the airlines resulting in consumer group Which, to lodge formal complaints against British Airways and EasyJet.

The amnesty that comes to an end today allows airlines to change their schedules without forfeiting their slots as is normally the case, which could result in a flurry of flight cancellations on the last day.

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