BRITISH Airways has suspended all its flights to a popular tourist destination from a major UK airport.
The route from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi has been suspended amid engine issues on the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircrafts.
The disruption is set to last from March 30 to October 25 next year.
Passengers already booked onto flights over this period will be forced to fly via Dubai or Doha instead – or switch to a flight via London Gatwick.
It comes just a few months after BA relaunched flights to the popular UEA capital for the first time since the pandemic.
The airline first mentioned issues with its 787 fleet in October this year after postponing the relaunch of its route to Kuala Lumpur, which was set to take place in November.
It specifically cited a delay in the delivery of parts for the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to the aircrafts.
A spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that we have had to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce; particularly in relation to the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft.
“We have 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 have apologised to those affected and are able to offer the vast majority a flight on 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.”
The route is now due to reopen on April 1 2025.
Passengers still looking to go to Abu Dhabi directly have the option of rebooking with one of BA’s partner airlines – Etihad or Qatar Airways.
However, they will only be eligible if the date of the flight is less than 14 days from the booking date.
The airline is also offering full refunds on all cancelled flights.
More woes for BA… but is the worst still to come?
By Lisa Minot, Head of Travel
IT’S yet more engine woes for British Airways as global supply constraints force it to cancel yet another route.
The news that flights to Abu Dhabi are being culled comes after a shocking October announcement where the flagship airline were forced to ground six aircraft – 15 per cent of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet – because of issues finding parts for the Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines.
The launch of its new route from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpar was delayed from November this year to April next year and the airline has suspended one flight a day between Gatwick and New York and Heathrow and Doha.
Flights to Beijing in China have also been suspended until November next year.
The airline is facing multiple challenges – not just from the impact of the Rolls Royce engine issues.
The huge growth of airlines across the Middle East has seen BA increasingly competing with multiple airlines including Emirates, Qatar and Etihad.
Plus the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has seen flights going east having to divert around Russian airspace, taking longer and using of course more fuel.
With little indication that supplies of parts will improve any time soon, we could well see more airlines forced to cull routes as they deal with the situation.