Has British Airways just cancelled your long haul flights? Here are your options

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British Airways has just made some sweeping cancellations for 2021, in many cases cancelling routes entirely.

The following routes have been permanently suspended, according to internal communications:

Abu Dhabi
Calgary
Charleston
Dammam
Durban
Jeddah (although a temporary Hajj operation will exist in July 2021)
Kuala Lumpur (from late March)
Lima
Muscat
Osaka
Pittsburgh
Seoul
Seychelles (from late April)

Three routes have only been suspended for the 2021 Summer season and are due to return in November 2021:

Bangkok
San Jose Costa Rica (from mid April)
Sydney

You may already have received an email alerting you if you had a booking on one of these services.

What are your options?

Flight cancellations are governed by EU law EU261. These regulations will continue to apply following the end of the Brexit transition period on 1st January 2021 as they have been subsumed into UK law.

You can read the full text of EU261 here. Article 5 of EU261 deals with cancellations:

1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall:

(a) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 8;

Article 8 outlines the duty of care an airline has towards you in the case of cancelled or delayed flights, including the right to reimbursement or re-routing.

Here is the relevant extract from Article 8:

Article 8: Right to reimbursement or re-routing

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:

(a) – reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger’s original travel plan, together with, when relevant,

– a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;

(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or

(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger’s convenience, subject to availability of seats.

As you can see, there are three clear options: a full refund (clause a), re-routing as close to the original flight timings as possible (clause b) or re-routing at a later date (clause c). It is your choice which of these you choose, not the airline’s.

There does not need to be Avios seat availability if your cancelled flight is an Avios redemption and you would like to be rerouted.

What if British Airways no longer flies there?

EU261 is clear that the right to re-routing is not dependent on whether a particular airline flies to the original destination.

For example, British Airways has cancelled its Kuala Lumpur flights permanently. Malaysia Airlines is now the only airline offering direct flights between London and KL.

In this case, you could reasonably argue that “comparable transport conditions” include re-routing onto the only direct flight available with Malaysia Airlines, rather than a connecting flight.

Some agents will claim they cannot reroute you on another airline because they do not have an agreement with each other. This is unlikely to stand up in court: EU261 does not make such a provision.

That said, you cannot pick what alternative airline you wish to fly. BA can put you on any flight as long as it gets you to your final destination at the “earliest opportunity” and under “comparable conditions”.

Can I switch to a different airport?

Yes. BA’s policy is to let you rebook to airports within a 300 mile radius of your original destination.

In our example where British Airways has cancelled its Kuala Lumpur flights, it is still flying to Singapore which is less than 217 miles away. In this case, you may prefer to be rerouted to Singapore.

BA have also said that they will allow re-routing to Vancouver for Calgary bookings and Riyadh for Jeddah bookings in this specific case.

EU261 is a little more vague about your rights in this case. Here is Article 8 (3):

3. When, in the case where a town, city or region is served by several airports, an operating air carrier offers a passenger a flight to an airport alternative to that for which the booking was made, the operating air carrier shall bear the cost of transferring the passenger from that alternative airport either to that for which the booking was made, or to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.

It is not entirely clear how EU law defines ‘region’ here. It is debatable whether Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are in the same ‘region’ – they certainly aren’t the same city!

Do I get compensation?

In some circumstances, monetary compensation is provided in addition to any duty of care, refund or re-routing rights.

EU261 also outlines the circumstances in which you may be entitled to compensation.

Article 5 states that:

1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall:

(c) have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 7, unless:

(i) they are informed of the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure; or

(ii) they are informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival; or

(iii) they are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.

As virtually all the cancellations have been made with more than two weeks notice you will not be entitled to compensation.

What other options do I have?

British Airways is offering Future Travel Vouchers as well as cash refunds if you do not wish to rebook. Unless your booking involved a British Airways American Express 241 voucher or a Lloyds upgrade voucher, cash is obviously the sensible answer.

The only reason to take a Future Travel Voucher is that it protects your 241 or upgrade voucher and extends it to 30th April 2022. All travel must be completed by this date.

How to contact BA

If you would like a full refund of your flight you must use the form here. You can only request a voucher on Manage My Booking.

For re-routing options you must call British Airways directly on 0800 727 800. If you have BA status then you should call the relevant status line as you have a substantially greater chance of getting through. If you have a booking in First you should call the ‘You First’ number here.

Phone lines are likely to be very busy in the coming days given the number of cancellations. Your best bet is to give it a week or so for things to calm down and then try again.

It is important to be clear that you may well not be offered the options that EU261 legally provides, especially if you have an Avios ticket. You may find that you will be left in the position of having to pay cash for a new ticket from another airline and then take British Airways to CEDR arbitration or Money Claim Online in order to reclaim your money.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)

Category

British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Lady London says:

17 Dec17 December 13:10

If you booked, say, LON-KUL you can indeed choose to go to SIN instead due SIN being < 300 miles from KUL.

However even going on the SIN flight instead you still have the right to insist on BA further transporting you onwards to KUL with a further flight on your ticket on some other airline to achieve this as you have the full right to be transported from your origin to your original destination.
- Aston100 says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 13:30
  
  “However even going on the SIN flight instead you still have the right to insist on BA further transporting you onwards to KUL with a further flight on your ticket on some other airline to achieve this as you have the full right to be transported from your origin to your original destination.”
  Two out of the 3 Youfirst agents I spoke to yesterday denied this onward transportation from SIN to KUL was within their gift to give (The 3rd agent was a moron who insisted an FTV was the only option at all).
  
  What hope do any of us have when BA agents seem either unaware of what passengers are entitled to, or are being deliberately told to refuse anything but the most basic of options?
  Rhys’ article is great, but it only works in a world where BA acknowledge their responsibility, and sadly that world isn’t the one where any of us seem to live.
  - Anna says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 13:38
    
    They’re not unaware, @Aston100, they are under instruction to concede as little as possible in the hope that most people won’t challenge them. It’s an absolute scandal, and a further scandal that the CAA aren’t calling them out on this like they have done with the likes of Ryanair earlier in the year.
  - Lady London says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 13:47
    
    you’d have to buy the onward flight and sue them after recording / noting details of their refusal.
    
    I’d not let them get away with it on principle because blocking you and inertia is being relied on to deny you your rights and they must be bullying thousands of customers in this way.
    - Lady London says:
      
      17 Dec17 December 13:57
      
      And if I incurred extra luggage fees or if any flight landed late forcing me to buy hotel/extra meals or even another ticket, rest assured I:d be claiming that off BA too as their refusal to provide me my rights would have lost me protections my iriginsl ticket would have afforded.
      
      Then there’s loss of my professional time due to any lateness and the time spent dealing with them, procuring alternatives they forced me to procure and the time spent for making the claim and time to attend court. All with 8% pro rata statutory interest added to the claim.
      
      Until it costs BA more to deliberately fall short of providing passengers’ rights than providing what the law provides, BA is going to keep on doing it. So put all the true costs of their denial onto your claim.
  - Lady London says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 14:25
    
    The point is you are not asking to change destination to SIN (which is withi BA’s gift) but alternative transportation to your originally booked destination (which is not just a thing of BA’s gift it is required by EC261 law).
    
    So your position is you are entitled to be transported to KUL by any reasonable routing, that coukdbe via SIN,bDOJ, HKG etc, you dont care within reason how BA chooses to do this but you still have the right for BA to have to provide you transport to KUL.
    
    Subtle difference.
  - meta says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 15:40
    
    @Aston100 I sued BA when they abandoned me in Porto. Claimed every possible penny from them. Got them to settle after cca 3 months. In the end they paid close to 4x the original ticket cost incl. refund of Avios and taxes on the original flight. They could have just have just booked me on a new TAP flight straight away and would probably incur maybe £100 extra if that. Money arrived this morning in my account.
    
    BA agents were ridiculous. One said I should travel to Madrid or Lisbon on my own. They even quoted word for word from the manual which is clearly wrong. They even refused a refund for the cancelled flight.
    - Rhys says:
      
      17 Dec17 December 16:21
      
      Clearly not everyone is as clued up as you – I guess BA think that being stubborn will save them money with only a fraction of passengers really knowledgeable of EU261 and willing to chase the entire way.
      - Anna says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 16:38
        
        I took them to CEDR for denying delay compensation last year (those were the days!), and they caved immediately as I showed beyond doubt that my version of events was correct and their’s was basically garbage! CEDR were great.
      - meta says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 16:51
        
        @Rhys of course, but if you made an effort to come to this site and read the comments, you’re clearly not an average passenger and should fight it. Even if MCOL or CEDR are daunting (which I assure anyone is simple enough), then there is an easy option of S75 claim. In addition, everyone here who has been affected should report it to CAA.
        
        Until there is a critical mass, BA will continue doing this.
      - Rhys says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 16:57
        
        Unfortunately the majority of passengers don’t read HfP!
Lady London says:

17 Dec17 December 13:11

Rhys I assume you will be providing the ‘what are your options if BA changes your First Class booking down to Business’ article tomorrow ? 🙂
- Anna says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 13:39
  
  I think you’ve done that enough for everyone recently LL!
  - Sean says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 14:00
    
    Probably, but an article from, Rhys would possibly drive more traffic to Hfp
  - Aston100 says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 14:01
    
    Yeah LL is so good on these comment threads.
    Such a shame this site doesn’t have a proper forum or better search options as that would save so many of the duplicate questions and duplicate replies.
    - Lady London says:
      
      17 Dec17 December 14:27
      
      The point is you are not asking to change destination to SIN (which is withi BA’s gift) but alternative transportation to your originally booked destination (which is not just a thing of BA’s gift it is required by EC261 law).
      
      So your position is you are entitled to be transported to KUL by any reasonable routing, that coukdbe via SIN,bDOJ, HKG etc, you dont care within reason how BA chooses to do this but you still have the right for BA to have to provide you transport to KUL.
      
      Subtle difference.
Andy says:

17 Dec17 December 13:31

May flights to Costa Rica cancelled to which they offered a reroute with Iberia via Madrid. My premium seat outwards would be reduced to economy and I would retain business seat on return. Total cost 1 2for1 voucher, 45000 avios and £1050 taxes. Instead I have gone for a refund and booked directly with Iberia 2 x business class returns from Madrid for 170000 avios + £350. Booked seperately 2 EDI/MAD returns for £100 which is much more convenient than LGW living in Newcastle. So I am 125000 avios poorer but £600, a business seat upgrade outwards and 2for1 voucher expiring 2022, better off!. Just amazed at the difference in taxes and charges.
- Clive says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 17:08
  
  Do you know that Iberia are having a 2for1 Avios sale at the moment?
  - memesweeper says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 20:05
    
    Sadly not for people in Scotland
    - Charlieface says:
      
      17 Dec17 December 20:54
      
      Just change your address
  - Andy says:
    
    18 Dec18 December 16:36
    
    Thanks for that……I didn’t know. I have a Spanish address so I am presuming it wasn’t applied because I booked through the UK website. Customer services here I come…
    - Andy says:
      
      18 Dec18 December 17:58
      
      Unfortunately I booked it on the 15th and the offer started on the 16th. Any suggestions with regard to cancelling and rebooking?.
María says:

17 Dec17 December 13:44

Brilliant article Rhys! Very helpful.
AJA says:

17 Dec17 December 13:46

Tony That was me – BAH should contact you with your options. Just be wary of messages left on voicemail asking you to contact them. If you don’t respond BAH will probably refund claiming you never responded to their attempt to contact you.
Mart says:

17 Dec17 December 13:48

I think I understand a lot of the helpful comments and this article but welcome any thoughts on my situation:

Return to sydney in business booked for September 2021. Originally booked using 241 companion and 50% off sale, so 125k avios for 2 people return, for May 2021. Then managed to move as availability came up for September 2021. Of course, now cancelled.

I managed to get through this morning and was told there was no reward availability so could not change booking. But do I need to be forceful and explain that this does not matter and they should move to an alternative date/with another airline?

Thanks in advance!
- Jay H says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 14:00
  
  You may have to take them to arbitration to get your rights they are often adamant they can’t do something when legally they are required to do so (and can do). They just hope they put people off so they take a refund…particularly on Avios tickets as it’s more expensive for them
- Lady London says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 14:01
  
  if they cancelled your flight you do *not* have to have avios seats available on the flight you rebook to. Any seat in same cabin class available for sale will do. Legally.
  - Mart says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 14:05
    
    Thanks both, yes they were very subtly trying to suggest the refund! I will ensure Im clued up on the wording in this article and call again later. These are the two options I ideally want (one of), and I think I am to some extent entitled to both?
    
    1. Same dates, different carrier; or
    2. Different dates, same carrier (from Nov 2021 onwards).
    - Lady London says:
      
      17 Dec17 December 14:09
      
      yes. be a bit reasonable but that’s basically it.
      - Mart says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 17:17
        
        Just a quick update – got through. Offered Qatar flights – couldnt believe my luck. Then an abrupt change and I was told “the agreement with QA is up to 27 March and they cannot offer alternative flights after that date atm. They have no agreement to offer alt flights with any other airlines”.
        
        Did my best at quoting the Article 8/my legal position but got nowhere. Just wondered if any tips or take on this?
      - Keensta says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 20:23
        
        @Lady London. Does your 18:34 advice apply regardless of how the tickets were purchased (via Avios, with Lloyds upgrade vouchers and 50% off promo)? Many thanks!
    - Jay H says:
      
      17 Dec17 December 14:10
      
      Yes, you are entitled to either. Your choice… not BA’s. Whatever they might try and tell you 🙂
      - Lady London says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 18:34
        
        @Mart BA’s problems in securing agreements to their particular taste with other airlines are nothing to do with you.
        
        If Timbuktu Airlines is the only other airline that has flights on sale (whether seats are available as award or just cash) then regardless of BA’s preference, system settings, not being in JV with BA, not being in OneWorld with BA, whatever, none of that excuses BA from providing youbaltrrnative transportation on that airline if including it in your replacement flight itinerary will ensure you get from your origin to your destination as close to your originsl times as reasonably possible and in comparable transport conditions.
        
        Keep a note or recording of all calls made to the airline on this: date, time, who you spoke to, what was said. A trail of illegal refusal will mean eventually an MCOL once filed they will just settle.
        
        Whilst appreciating BA’s problems even without an ‘agreement’ (which is something new BA must be working on for their own benefit since there are already existing agreements at OneWorld level and in IATA) BA would be paying only an interline price for your ticket and there is no barrier to them rerouting you now using agreements already in place.
        
        If you can buy a replacement ticket on the internet then so can BA if they really have no agreement in place.
        
        If you need certainty of your travel and it wont wait till nearer 27th March to give them a chance, price up that QR ticket on the internet, have another polite conversation with them, mention do they want you to Section 75 it meaning your credit card would pay it to you and presumably claim the full cash amount off them, and do it.
        
        Otherwise consider contacting them a bit later when they might have their agreement in place and help them out a bit.
      - Mart says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 18:51
        
        @LadyLondon thank you. You are fantastic. I will heed your advice and update in due course!
      - Lady London says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 21:10
        
        per seat even if you got each seat with a toy out of a cornflake packet
  - Lady London says:
    
    17 Dec17 December 14:08
    
    and if you reroute to other airlines nope, any seat (not just reward) available in same cabin you are entitled too.
    
    Dont feel sorry for BA they pay a fraction for alternative sests with other IATA airlines, at ‘interline rates’, as compared to the rate you would.
    
    BA has also.made a commercial decision to remove flights and classes, they will surely have evaluated the overall cost and resulting benefit to them and that would have included EC261 costs to them based on few passengers claiming. Be one of those passengers.
    - Dominic says:
      
      17 Dec17 December 14:24
      
      I’m having the same problem with First to SYD via SIN with Companion Voucher booked in Avios sale in October for June 2021 flights (cancelled by BA yesterday). BA First told me by phone this morning I could not delay to November 2021 for revised flights because outside 12 month original ticket validity, and I could not reroute on same dates via HKK or SIN because BA has no agreement with partner carriers to get me from HKK or SIN to SYD. I have made a complaint to BA and expect to have to go to court unless BA relents. They want me to take voucher, I said no.
      - Lady London says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 14:38
        
        IMV and in @Charlieface’s view the restriction to only rerouting to dates within the 35 days from issue date is purely an amin technicality easily overcome by the airline issuing a new ticket to fulfil your rights.
        Needs testing in court but yours is a good case as Australia is the sort of trip people might only be able to do at particular times that might turn out to be a year or so apart if flights very close to the original time are also cancelled.
        
        If BA is going to use this as snbobjection instead of keeping your ticket on its own ‘ paper’ [ticket] and at its original low internsl cost, then insist on them rerouting you around the time of your original flight on other airline(s) which will cost them more.
        
        They can choose.
      - Charlieface says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 17:11
        
        Basically, BA have rules on their tickets that the agents (both in-house and travel agents) are supposed to follow. These state among others that tickets are only valid for 12 months and that re-routing can only be done on other OW airlines.
        What is supposed to happen, is that in the event of IRROPS (re-routing) and the agent needs to break these rules to make a new ticket, they must refer to the back-office for authorisation. The problem is they are refusing to do this.
      - Mart says:
        
        17 Dec17 December 17:22
        
        @charlieface, yes this is what happened to me. Refused to reroute as my September Flights are beyond the March 27 cut off for the agreement with Qatar airlines (no other airlines have an agreement, apparently).
        
        Sounds like I need to go back and explain they need to request authorisation. I suspect they know this but have been told not to. Frustrating but determined to make this work!
- Alan says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 17:13
  
  Had exactly the same issue. Tried to get them to reroute with Qatar but they said no agreement for redemption flights just now. Had checked what came up for my dates from Man to Syd, and is was BA to Hong Kong then Cathay flight. Roughly same times so quite happy 😃
DodgyDCF says:

17 Dec17 December 13:58

BA said I can reroute to another country within 300 miles????
- Nigel W says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 13:59
  
  I think so… I think i have seen Vancouver/Seattle being used as one example.
Bill says:

17 Dec17 December 14:31

I have a flight out to Osaka and return from Tokyo. They have cancelled the Osaka. The booking is an Amex 2 for 1.

Can I ask for a refund of the whole trip? (Is on 1 PNR) and I won’t pay the 35 GBP canx fee?

Thanks
- Lady London says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 14:40
  
  Yes.
  no fee as they cancelled.
  you can also request to be transported on someone like JAL, which is very nice in J or F, instead.
- Chris Johnston says:
  
  17 Dec17 December 14:42
  
  Yes. Free cancellation if any flight in the itinerary is cancelled.