Brits planning to jet off to the UAE next year could face a major disruption as British Airways has announced that it will be grounding flight routes to a key tourist hotspot in the UAE for nearly half of 2025.
Specifically, direct flights between London Heathrow and Abu Dhabi will be suspended from March 31 until October 25 next year.
Those who have already booked flights that may be affected by this change might need to depart from Gatwick or endure a stopover in Dubai or Doha to reach Abu Dhabi.
According to Timeout, passengers will be offered the chance to rebook flights on Etihad or Qatar Airways, BA’s partners, who will continue to operate direct flights to the UAE capital.
This rerouting of Abu Dhabi flights is the latest in a series of changes made by the airline in response to mechanical issues with their planes.
British Airways has been forced to cancel a number of direct flights, including those between Gatwick and New York, Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur, as well as Heathrow and Doha until March or April. This is assuming no further delays or supply chain issues occur in the next four months.
The company needs new engines for many of their Boeing 787 aircraft, which are used for long-haul flights including those to Abu Dhabi.
Rolls Royce, the manufacturer of these engines, has been facing supply chain problems that have resulted in delayed delivery of essential parts, leaving BA with several planes that are currently unable to fly.
With a reduced fleet, the carrier is being forced to stretch their operational planes to try to fill the gaps.
The disruption to the Abu Dhabi route may be particularly disappointing for some passengers as the direct route only reopened this April after a four-year hiatus.
Those affected by this change should have already received communication from British Airways with offers to either get them on a different flight with British Airways on the same day or with one of their partner airlines.
A spokesperson for BA expressed their disappointment at having to make more changes to the 2025 travel schedule: “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 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.”