Airlines including British Airways and easyJet have been told by the government to cancel flights early to avoid airport chaos this summer.
The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told airline bosses to rejig plans for the remainder of the summer and “develop a schedule that is deliverable”.
This followed between 2% and 4% of UK flights being cancelled during the recent half term and Platinum Jubilee weekend – up from the usual rate of 1%, according to the CAA.
Airline companies need schedules that “should be resilient for the unplanned and inevitable operational challenges that you will face”, the joint letter said.
BA, which is owned by International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG), easyJet PLC, Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA), Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) and other carriers into and out of the UK must “keep consumers informed” about their rights during disruption.
Call centres should be “sufficiently staffed” and digital channels should be “user-friendly”, to enable this process, the letter said.
Sue Davies, the head of consumer rights at consumer group Which?, yesterday accused airlines of letting down their customers, accusing them of “blatant flouting” of their obligations to customers and misleading behaviour in terms of providing compensation.
Speaking to the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) select committee in Westminster she said: "The airlines and the government were encouraging people to travel again, and we think they've just underestimated the capacity issues, and the shortages both within the airlines and the airport services, including baggage handlers.”
With BA, easyJet and tour operator TUI cancelling a total of over 150 flights on some days in recent weeks, the airlines and the government have been blaming each other for the chaos.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said travel firms had "seriously oversold flights and holidays relative to their capacity to deliver,” while Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2, said ministers had a “scant” understanding of how the industry works and blamed the government for the disruption.