British Airways 'cancels all flights on popular route until 2025'
British Airways has cancelled all flights from Gatwick to New York until at least next year. Hundreds of long-haul flights have been abandoned over the coming months due to delays in the delivery of engines from Rolls-Royce.
The route between London Gatwick and JFK is very popular, especially around Christmas. Flights on the route will be suspended from December 12 to March 25 next year.
The decision to axe some flights to New York means that trips to the city could rise as fewer seats to the destination will be available. British Airways has also had to push back plans to relaunch its route between London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia.
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It was due to resume on November 12, Mirror reports. But now the route will most likely be available again in April 2025.
Cancellations were made after difficulty emerged in finding parts for their Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. A British Airways 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 Rolls Royce spokesperson added: "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."
The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine has been designed to power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. A Boeing 787 Dreamliner powered by a Trent 1000 engine is said to be 20 per cent more efficient than the previous Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
British Airways launched its service from London Gatwick to New York in 2015. It was the third London airport to do so after London Heathrow and London City.
The UK-based airline selected Rolls-Royce Trent engines to power 24 of its Boeing 7687s in 2007. But with this delay, the fleet has been reduced by 15 per cent.
British Airways flights between London Heathrow and JFK are operating as normal.