London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Airlines face further pressure over cancellations as one company benefits from the chaos

Airlines face further pressure over cancellations as one company benefits from the chaos

WH Smith reports bumper travel sales after airports are widely gripped by queues due to flight disruption which the government is demanding airlines tackle through better management of their schedules.

As airlines are told they must have "deliverable" schedules in a bid to avoid a repeat of the recent chaos at airports, one company has seemingly enjoyed a boost from the queues.

WH Smith, which has a major presence at UK airports, reported on Wednesday that it had seen bumper travel business trading during its third financial quarter to 11 June.

The end of May and early June saw tens of thousands of holidaymakers affected by delays and cancellations as airlines and airports grappled staff shortages.

The problems have existed since Easter when flight volumes rose after the end of COVID restrictions.

Following a hearing by MPs into the causes of the half-term mayhem on Tuesday, the Department for Transport (DfT) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a joint letter to the aviation industry calling on companies to take "all possible steps" to "avoid the unacceptable scenes we have recently witnessed".

It stated that earlier cancellations are "better" than axing flights on the day of departure.

The Independent's travel editor Simon Calder, who was among the witnesses giving evidence to the parliamentary committee, told Sky News that British Airways and easyJet were the two airlines giving the most cause for concern.

"British Airways and easyJet are cancelling flights in extraordinary numbers," he said.

"BA have cancelled more than 100 short haul, European and domestic flights today but they cancelled those generally two or three weeks ago and gave plenty of warning.

"EasyJet cancelled 40 flights to and from Gatwick today and they quite often gave a few days and maybe in some cases, a few hours' notice.

"The letter... is aimed squarely at easyJet - the part which says you've got to have a 'deliverable' schedule."

He said there were lots of instances, he added, of the airline cancelling one of its frequent daily services and moving passengers onto different flights.

Both airlines, which cut staff after international travel was grounded in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic, told the MPs they were sorry for the disruption and working hard to bolster their schedules.

Under questioning, BA's representative refused to admit that its decision to axe more than 10,000 workers had damaged its ability to deliver services but it, like easyJet, argued that hiring efforts were being hampered by big delays in securing security clearances.

The return of passenger volumes since March has come as a welcome relief for airports and their associated businesses.


WH Smith said its UK airport shops performed better than rail when compared to 2019 levels - likely a consequence of many commuters continuing to work from home rather than offices.

The company said it expected its full-year performance to reach the higher end of analysts' forecasts because of the travel boost.

It credited the recovery in its North American and British markets, with its total travel business revenue at 123% of pre-pandemic levels in the quarter.

However, it said sales in its high street stores continued to lag those seen in 2019.

Shares were almost 7% up at the open.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
×