LONDON — British travellers going abroad for the Easter holidays faced disruptions Monday (Apr 4) as two main carriers, British Airways and easyJet, cancelled dozens of flights due to staff shortages related to soaring cases of COVID-19 in the U.K.
Budget carrier easyJet grounded 62 flights scheduled for Monday after cancelling at least 222 flights over the weekend, while British Airways said some three dozen out of its 115 flights cancelled Monday were due to pandemic-related problems.
Several of the British Airways cancellations were made at the last minute due to staff calling in sick, and about 25 others were a result of a decision taken in recent weeks to reduce its overall flight schedule.
The Easter school holidays, which start this week, are the first time many families in Britain have booked trips abroad after two years of restrictions. All remaining virus measures, including mandatory self-isolation for those infected and testing requirements for international travel, were binned in February and March as part of the U.K.’s “living with COVID” plan.
Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest, said it had anticipated delays this week because it expected to see the largest number of people travelling since the March 2020 lockdown.
