It comes when The Telegraph can reveal another row between airlines and ministers. Industry sources claimed airline chief executives were protesting demands from Whitehall officials to make a public promise to run every flight on their schedule.
It’s clear that officials from the Department of Transport were hit back during a meeting with industry leaders earlier this week. However, a government source said: “We have not asked that, but we have required airlines to review their schedules to make sure they are realistic.”
More than one in 25 flights from the UK on Thursday were canceled on the day – double the number earlier in the week – with the disruption attributed to staff shortages exacerbated by Covid.
It followed a 78 percent increase in canceled flights across Europe over the past week, with 4,384 flights grounded compared to 2,458 in the previous week, according to Cirium, an aviation data analyst.
With another round of cancellations on the horizon, industrial action erupts across the continent.
Hundreds of BA check-in workers at Heathrow have voted to leave in a row for pay, and union action is expected to take place later this month. It has yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, Spain-based cabin crew working for Ryanair and easyJet are walking out this weekend, Paris Charles de Gaulle workers have been forced in a row for cancellations due to wages and ground staff in Germany are demanding at least €350 more a month.
Up to 1,000 pilots of SAS, the Scandinavian airline, are conducting wage negotiations and threatening strikes.