BA cancels 'hundreds' of flights due to shortage of engine parts

12 October 2024, 16:56

Hundreds of long-haul British Airways flights have been cancelled due to a shortage of engine parts.

The airline has reportedly been forced to axe the flights amid supply-chain issues with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to the company’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Six aircraft have been grounded, around 15 per cent of the Dreamliner fleet, the Times reports.

Flights set to take off from November to April have been delayed, sources told the publication.

The daily flight from Gatwick to New York’s JFK airport will also be suspended from December 12 until the end of March.

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A BA spokesperson said they were “disappointed” to delay the flights but had no other choice.

A statement read: “We’re disappointed that we’ve had to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce — particularly in relation to the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft.

“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 for their travel plans. We’ve apologised to those affected and are able to offer the vast majority a flight the same day with BA or one of our partner airlines.”

Airline bosses are allegedly furious with Rolls-Royce, blaming this delay on the luxury car brand.

BA has reportedly accused the manufacturer of failing to honour a deal which would see a specific number of engine parts provided to the airline.

A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: “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.”