It comes as The Telegraph can reveal a fresh row between airlines and ministers. Industry sources say airline chief executives have rebelled against demands from Whitehall officials to make a public pledge to operate every single flight on their schedules.
Department of Transport officials are understood to have been rebuffed during a call with industry leaders earlier this week. However, a government source said: “We have not asked for this, but we have asked the airlines to review their schedules to make sure they are realistic.”
More than one in 25 flights from the UK on Thursday were canceled during the day – double the percentage earlier in the week – with the disruption due to staff shortages compounded by Covid.
It followed a 78 percent increase in canceled flights across Europe in the past week, with 4,384 flights grounded compared to 2,458 the previous week, according to Cirium, an aviation data analyst.
With another round of cancellations on the horizon, industrial action is erupting across the continent.
Hundreds of BA check-in staff at Heathrow have voted to walk out in a pay dispute, with strike action expected to take place later this month. Not confirmed yet.
Meanwhile, Spain-based cabin crew working for Ryanair and easyJet are walking out this weekend, workers at Paris Charles de Gaulle have forced back-to-back cancellations over pay, and ground crew in Germany are demanding at least €350 more a month.
Up to 1,000 pilots at SAS, the Scandinavian airline, are holding pay talks and threatening to strike.
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