British Airways has axed a key London-Middle East route, which will be a major blow to thousands of passengers.
The airline has suspended all flights to Abu Dhabi from London Heathrow; BA says issues with the delivery of engine parts from Rolls-Royce have caused the route to be suspended.
Passengers who book flights between the destinations between March 30 and October 25 next year will be forced to fly via Doha and Dubai or from London Gatwick.
In a statement, the airline said it does not believe the issue with its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft “will be resolved quickly,” adding that it has “apologised to those affected.”
A spokesperson for BA said: “We’re disappointed that we’ve 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’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.”
The shortage of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines is causing a spike in airfares as airline competition narrows.
Insiders have previously warned that flight cancellations linked to supply chain issues will peak next year.
Last month, BA removed 200,000 seats from the available capacity between the UK and southeast Asia this winter, in a move it blamed on “delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce”.
This included cancelling the resumption of daily flights between Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur.
And in October, BA announced it had cancelled all flights between New York and London Gatwick, starting in December.
Virgin Atlantic also blamed Rolls-Royce shortages after postponing flights between London and Accra in Ghana and Tel Aviv in Israel until next winter.