Airlines have axed 1,500 UK flights this May so far, exclusive analysis by the Mirror has shown. As the Middle East crisis and rocketing jet fuel costs push up expenses ahead of the industry's peak travel period, airlines are grounding flights in a desperate bid to save cash.
Around 13,000 flights have been stripped from May schedules across the globe, according to figures from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Of those, 1,468 are from the UK's biggest airports, representing 275,616 scrapped seats. That figure was obtained using the latest data, which was compared with flight schedules on April 10 to those on April 21. The true number is likely significantly higher now, after the UK Government gave airlines extra powers to consolidate and cancel flights.
The 1,468 figure does not include the dozens of other smaller UK airports, which have also been affected.
UK airport cancellations for May
- Heathrow: 846 flights, 151,198 seats
- Gatwick: 218 flights, 53,728 seats
- Birmingham: 200 flights, 21,880 seats
- Glasgow: 86 flights, 35,016 seats
- Manchester: 60 flights, 8,760 seats
- Edinburgh: 56 flights, 7,062 seats
- Newcastle: 46 flights, 5,056 seats
- Stansted: 16 flights, 2,384 seats
In total, 410 routes have been affected across the UK's major airports. While the overall figure is high, airlines have added many different flights that bring the net number of cancellations down significantly. The net number of cancellations from Heathrow is currently around 100.
A spokesperson for Heathrow said: "As the country's busiest airport by far, we will always have a higher number of cancellations than other airports due to the sheer scale of operations at Heathrow. As a proportion, we're in line with the sector. Important to note we're still Europe's most punctual hub airport, so passengers are continuing to get reliable journeys here. While some routes have been cancelled due to airspace closures in the region, many airlines have pivoted to alternative destinations or increased frequencies elsewhere, so we're still broadly serving the same number of people."
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: "Airports aren't responsible for decisions to cancel flights and the things that lead to cancellations (weather, strikes, airline issues, ground handling issues) are out of airports' hands."
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: "It is understandable that holidaymakers are feeling apprehensive about their summer travel plans due to the wave of cancellations. The percentage of flights cancelled from the UK remains small, when you consider that the worst airlines cancel over 2% of flights less than a day before departure, even in normal times. Our advice for this summer is to book a package holiday, as that is the best way to protect the full cost of your holiday should greater disruption occur."
Istanbul, among the world's busiest airports, and Germany's Munich airport have seen the sharpest drops in passenger numbers. German carrier Lufthansa has axed 20,000 short-haul flights through its Cityline subsidiary, while Irish aviation favourite Aer Lingus has scrapped hundreds of flights from its summer timetable.
The cost of jet fuel has doubled since the outbreak of war on 28 February. Air France said it anticipates a $2.4bn (£1.7bn) rise in its jet fuel costs this year, while American Airlines expects its bill to climb by more than $4bn, as reported by City AM.
The UK government has been forced to step in, with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander easing the "use-it-or-lose-it" slot regulations, enabling airlines to merge half-empty flights to conserve fuel without forfeiting future operating privileges. Alexander is also championing staycations, following a nudge from Sir Keir Starmer that Britons would need to think about changing "where they go on holiday".
As tensions in the Middle East continue, UK refineries have been instructed to ramp up jet fuel production as part of emergency contingency measures.
Julia Lo Bue-Said OBE, CEO of Advantage Travel Partnership, said: "While airlines globally are making targeted adjustments in response to fuel pressures, the scale should be kept in perspective — 13,000 cancellations represent just over 1% of all flights worldwide, with the greatest impact felt on routes through Istanbul and Munich. UK departures, including key summer holiday routes, remain unaffected, and there is no reason for customers to delay or reconsider their travel plans."
