UK flights: British Airways pauses short-haul flight sales from Heathrow

British Airways said Tuesday that it’s suspending sales of short-haul flights from London’s Heathrow Airport for about a week, a response to the airport’s request to limit bookings to help ease travel disruptions caused by booming demand and staff shortages.

Restrictions on ticket sales for domestic UK and European services departing from Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, are in place until Monday. Passengers, however, can still book short-haul flights to the airport.

The airline said it was taking action after Heathrow capped daily departing passenger numbers at 100,000 until Sept. 11. The airport asked airlines to stop selling tickets and cut flights, stirring criticism.

Passenger traffic at Heathrow and other European airports has boomed after two years of pandemic travel restrictions, but airports and airlines haven’t been able to keep up because they laid off many thousands of staff amid the depths of Covid-19.

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