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Getting around isn’t straightforward at the moment. Trains are delayed. This weekend there’s due to be record traffic on the roads. And now it’s getting harder to escape the mess that is British transport, as British Airways (BA) axes more of its services from London.
Flights between London Heathrow and Abu Dhabi will remain grounded from March 31 until October 25 next year. Passengers already booked onto them will need to either do a layover in Doha or Dubai, or travel from Gatwick instead. You will also be able to re-book onto a flight with Etihad or Qatar Airways, which are partnered with BA, from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi without a layover the same day, so although it’s inconvenient, these disruptions shouldn’t be the end of the world.
This is the latest in an ongoing series of cancellations from the company, which is in need of new engines for their Boeing 787 aircrafts, which they use for long-haul flights. The engines are created by Rolls Royce, but an issue in the supply chain has resulted in the delivery of necessary parts being delayed, so several planes can’t take flight.
Trips between Gatwick and New York, and Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur and Doha have all been cancelled until March or April, assuming that there are no further delays than those already expected.
A spokesperson for BA has said that they are 'disappointed’ to have to ‘make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts.’ The airline continued: ‘We’ve taken this action because we do not believe the issue will be solved quickly, and we want to offer our customers the certainty they deserve for their travel plans.
‘We’ve apologised to those affected and are able to offer the vast majority a flight the same day with British Airways or one of our partner airlines... We continue to work closely with Rolls-Royce to ensure the company is aware of the impact its issues are having on our schedule and customers, and seek reassurance of a prompt and reliable solution.'
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