British holidaymakers have been warned of potential journey chaos after British Airways axed all its flights from a prime airport within the nation for subsequent summer season.
The main airline has confirmed it has suspended its summer season 2025 flights from Southampton Airport. Passengers had been reportedly knowledgeable of the information final Friday night.
Aviation trade specialists have warned that this can have a “important influence” on the way forward for the foremost regional air journey hub.
Thus far British Airways, the second largest UK-based service (based mostly on fleet measurement and passengers carried) behind easyJet, have declined to offer a cause for the withdrawal of the routes, which embrace fashionable locations like Malaga, Majorca and Faro.
A BA spokesperson confirmed: “We’re suspending our summer season 2025 operations from Southampton Airport and contacting any affected clients with choices together with rebooking on another flight with us or one other airline or a full refund.”
Simply 4 months in the past, the airline had launched two new choices for travellers with flights to Bergerac in Italy and Palma in Spain, however these have additionally now been axed. There are actually no flights from Southampton out there for the summer season of 2025 on the BA web site.
The transfer has raised issues inside the aviation trade about the way forward for the airport, which noticed a serious decline throughout the pandemic to round 1 / 4 of one million passengers, however final yr recorded over 750,000 folks, which was effectively under the airport’s annual, pre-pandemic, two million passengers.
The lack of BA subsequent summer season comes as the newest blow to the airport, which in 2021 suffered from the collapse of FlyBe and the top of a complete vary of routes falling off their departures and arrivals boards.
There are hopes that different airways will have the ability to take over a few of these dropped routes, together with EasyJet. Nevertheless, the neighbouring Bournemouth Airport, simply 30 miles away, affords stiff competitors on price range journey with extra Ryanair and Jet2 routes than beforehand.
Specialists at Aviation Direct warned that the lack of these routes may show tough for the airport, The Mirror reported, saying: “The query stays whether or not EasyJet or different airways will take over the routes cancelled by British Airways.
“The airline had expanded its route community lately, which was useful for Southampton passengers, however British Airways’ cancellations may depart a niche that will likely be tough to fill.”
A spokesperson from Southampton Airport stated: “Clearly it’s disappointing when any route is eliminated.
“Nevertheless, we’re in fixed dialogue with airways relating to the introduction of recent providers and that features backfilling the routes withdrawn by British Airways.”