M&S chairman hits out at British Airways after string of flights cancelled

Almost 3pc of BA flights were cancelled last year, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and analysts OAG. By contrast, Ryanair cancelled 0.34pc of flights and easyJet 1.5pc of flights.

British Airways flights had an average delay of 22.3 minutes in 2023, compared to 21.5 minutes for easyJet and 19.8 minutes for Ryanair.

It has sparked growing frustration among flyers. A survey by Which? in February revealed that the airline ranked among the worst for customer satisfaction. 

For long-haul flights, British Airways’ customer satisfaction store was the joint third lowest out of the 17 carriers, only above Air Canada and Lufthansa. For short-haul, it was the fifth lowest, with a satisfaction score of 56pc. 

Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said: “Air fares have soared in recent years, and the bare minimum passengers should expect in return for their hard-earned cash is a reliable service, with friendly, easy to access customer support when they are let down.”

He said passengers at many airlines were “sadly being shortchanged – with high rates of last minute cancellations, abysmal customer service and sneaky extra fees for luggage hiking up the final price”.

At the time British Airways apologised for any disruption customers had faced during challenging periods, saying it always worked hard “to get our customers to where they need to be on time”. 

BA suffered a series of technical issues last year, including an IT outage last May that caused severe travel turmoil during the bank holiday weekend. At the time, the carrier was forced to cancel more than 175 flights.

BA boss Sean Doyle recently claimed the airline was becoming more punctual at its London Heathrow hub, after improvements within the airport. He said 79pc of services were now on time, compared to 60pc a year ago.

British Airways’s owner IAG has predicted a boom in demand this summer. IAG chief Luis Gallego said last week: “Bookings are good. Demand continues to be strong and we’re well positioned for the summer.”