by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 2:32 PM ET, Thu July 7, 2022
British Airways has canceled an extra 10,300 short-haul flights after canceling a round of others earlier this week, struggling through a worker shortage.
According to Bloomberg, the airline has cut 13 percent of its entire schedule from April through October, totaling to 30,000 flights cut this summer.
The problem is staffing. British Airways, like many airlines in Europe and the U.S., both regions where air travel is being impacted the most, cut 10,000 workers during the worst part of the pandemic; these necessary workers haven't been rehired as quickly as needed.
Travelers who are impacted by these canceled flights will receive a refund and the opportunity to rebook their flights.
"While taking further action is not where we wanted to be, it's the right thing to do," said the airline in an email to Bloomberg. "This new flexibility means that we can further reduce our schedule and consolidate some of our quieter services so that we can protect as many of our holiday flights as possible."
The staffing shortage isn't just impacting flights: it's also causing a serious luggage pileup at Heathrow International Airport. Photos show hundreds of bags left unattended without luggage handlers, completely covering luggage lanes.
Back in April, the airline tried easing its worker shortage and the delays caused by baggage handling by cutting back on loading luggage onto short-haul flights, shipping them on later flights than their owners, though that naturally led to some people receiving their luggage at least a week later than their own flight.
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