BA axes hundreds of flights over coronavirus fears but WILL offer refunds and waive change fees
BRITISH Airways is cancelling hundreds of flights – but is offering refunds or waiving the change fee on any flight booked within the next two weeks.
It means passengers who book a flight in the next fortnight will be able to delay travel if the situation changes or they choose not to fly.
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Andrew Brem, British Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “As some customers may choose to change or delay their travel plans at the moment, it’s important we offer them greater flexibility.
“By waiving our change fee our customers who book flights between today and March 16 they can have the added confidence to book a trip with British Airways that suits them.”
The decision to waive the fees for changing bookings comes as British Airways cancels HUNDREDS of flights to Europe and even New York as demand plummets.
A spokesman said: “To match reduced demand due to the continuing coronavirus issue, we are merging a number of flights between March 16 and March 28.
“We will be contacting customers on cancelled flights so we can discuss their travel options, including rebooking onto other carriers where possible, full refunds or booking with BA for a later date of travel.”
Low-cost giants Ryanair also announced yesterday a 25per cent DROP in their short haul flights, mainly to and from Italy, for three weeks up to April 8.
The airline has seen a huge drop in bookings and a significant rise in passengers simply choosing not to turn up for flights they have booked.
Ryanair Group CEO, Michael O’Leary said: “There has been a notable drop in forward bookings towards the end of March into early April.
“It makes sense to selectively prune our schedule to and from those airports where travel has been most affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.”
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