British Airways cancels hundreds of flights from UK airports after major problem

British Airways has canned hundreds of flights after issues with 15% of their fleet's engines, as delays are made to planned flight routes while others are suspended until next year.

British Airways has cancelled hundreds of flights from UK airports after being hit with a serious problem.

Aircraft from the airline were grounded after maintenance faults were discovered in several of its Rolls-Royce jet engines. New routes to Malaysia have been abandoned, while the number of flights to Qatar has been cut in half. Services to and from other routes, including Gatwick and JFK in New York, have also been suspended, the Mirror reports.

The route adjustments and axed flights are expected to affect thousands of passengers, with the airline already cutting 11 routes. British Airways has said that the problem is with Trent 1000 engines, which are installed on its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets.

The Sun stated that a Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur service will be delayed and will now open in April 2025, rather than November 2024. One of two daily flights to Doha has been cancelled, while flights between Gatwick and JFK have been halted for the winter beginning in December.

A BA spokesperson said: "We’ve taken this action because we do not believe the issue will be solved quickly, and we want to offer our customers the certainty they deserve.

"We’ve apologised to those affected and are able to offer the vast majority a flight the same day with British Airways or one of our partner airlines. We continue to work closely with Rolls-Royce to ensure the company is aware of the impact its issues are having on our schedule and customers, and seek reassurance of a prompt and reliable solution."

A message sent to those affected passengers from British Airways reads: "Unfortunately, Rolls-Royce, our engine supplier for our fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, is experiencing challenges. We’re not the only airline experiencing this issue and are doing all we can to work with Rolls-Royce to resolve the situation."

A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: “We continue to work with British Airways and all of our customers to minimise the impact of the limited availability of spares due to the current supply chain constraints. Unfortunately, this is an issue affecting the whole aerospace industry.”

Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!

Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.

You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.

All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!

If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.

To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.

Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.