As a result of Heathrow’s newly imposed capacity restrictions, BA has had to take a small number of additional flights out of their schedule. With limited capacity, BA will prioritise customers who hold ticketed bookings. Therefore, the decision has been made to cancel any un-ticketed bookings for travel between 2pm on Friday 15th July and Sunday 24th July inclusive.
British Airways shares statement relating to Heathrow Capacity Reductions & Changes to Unticketed Bookings:
“As you are aware, several major airports across the world have imposed restrictions on the number of flights that airlines can operate in order to minimise the strain on their operations. This week, Heathrow Airport published a new restriction on the number of customers that can fly through the airport each day. The restriction will impact all airlines operating at Heathrow, which will be effective immediately, and will run through to 11 September 2022.”
“This is incredibly disappointing news for our customers, coming at a time when we’ve already taken responsible action to reduce our summer schedule further, utilising slot alleviation to minimise disruption and provide certainty for travellers and help airports manage their resources.”
As a result of Heathrow’s request, BA has removed a small number of additional flights from their schedule. BA will be contacting customers to apologise, advise them of their customer rights and offer options including rebooking or refund. BA are aware that some customers may want to review their travel plans in light of the current travel challenges and have introduced a policy that will allow them to easily change travel dates, giving them additional flexibility.
• If customers are due to fly from Heathrow on or before 25 July 2022, they can change to another BA flight within the next 12 months (ticket validity) free of charge, subject to availability. Full details can be found here.
• Alternatively, if customers no longer wish to fly from Heathrow on or before 25 July 2022, they can request a voucher for future travel, valid until 30 September 2023. Details on how to retain the value of the ticket for future travel can be found via the links detailed below.
• If a customer’s flight is cancelled, they can request a refund as per our standard customer guidelines.
With limited capacity, BA must prioritise customers who hold ticketed bookings. Therefore, the airline has made the difficult decision to cancel any unticketed bookings for travel between Friday 15 July and Sunday 24 July, should they remain unticketed by Friday 15 July at 14.00 BST.
If your customers’ travel plans have been finalised, BA urges you to ensure these are ticketed as soon as possible. Group bookings are unaffected by this interim change in policy.
British Airways shares “This temporary measure will remain in place up to and including Sunday 24 July. We’re very sorry for the last-minute changes to our standard policies, and we do not underestimate the impact this has on you and your customers. Thank you for continuing to work alongside us during this complex and dynamic situation.”
Here’s a handy guide for BA’s flexible booking policies
Guidance for the Travel Trade:
Yesterday an email was sent out via BATT (BA Travel Trade), if you are not signed up for email updates, link below with details. These will detail rebooking options due to these restrictions (see – BATT (BA Travel Trade). Note that some additional guidelines could be on the second or third page.
Useful British Airways Links in relation to Heathrow Capacity Restrictions:
- Standard Guidelines – BA Trade Support | Standard customer guidelines – EI is now an option on flights with connections to AJB
- Customer Booking for Disruption – BA Trade Support – AskBA – general Disruption for flights still operating
- Specific Guideline onto EI – BA Trade Support – AskBA – Valid 31st July
Reminder – IATA Res 830d – Customer contact for operational disruptions communication.
Iberia guidance, as a result of Heathrow’s request:
Immediate issuance by the agencies of tickets booked with origin/destination LHR, otherwise Iberia will proceed to cancellation, without complying with the conditions of the issuance of the fare.
Customers have the possibility to change to another Iberia flight within the next 6 months if you have to travel on or before 25 July to/from Heathrow. If you no longer wish to fly to/from Heathrow on or before 25 July 2022, you can request a voucher for future travel, valid until 30 September 2023. If your flight is cancelled, you can apply for a refund in accordance with Iberia’s standard guidelines. This temporary measure will remain in place up to and including Sunday 24 July.
