COVID-19: British Airways Suspends Gatwick Operations Including Flights To Bermuda

Now that England is officially in its second national lockdown, the UK’s flag carrier, British Airways is taking action to cut costs in anticipation of the downturn in travel by suspending operations at London’s Gatwick Airport until early December.

The move will also suspend flights to Bermuda right after the Remembrance Day holiday on November 11 until December 11.

“Following the government’s announcement of a new national lockdown for England last Saturday, we have been urgently reviewing our schedule for November,” the airline said in a statement.

“Our focus is on keeping crucial air links open — bringing home the thousands of customers currently abroad, transporting vital goods and ensuring people who are permitted to travel in and out of the UK for work, education and other reasons stipulated by the UK government, can continue to do so.”

For the duration of the lockdown from November 5 until December 2, the UK government has banned all travel — both international and domestic. But passengers travelling for essential reasons for work, education and other “legally permitted” reasons, are still permitted to do so.

Thursday’s announcement is not the first time BA has dropped Gatwick since the start of the pandemic. In March, the flagship airline suspended operations to London’s second-largest airport amid the first national lockdown.

A BA spokeswoman said: “Our focus is on keeping crucial air links open – bringing home the thousands of customers currently abroad, transporting vital goods, and ensuring people who are permitted to travel in and out of the UK for work, education and other reasons stipulated by the UK Government, can continue to do so.

“We will be contacting customers whose flights are cancelled to offer refund options, as well as encouraging customers who wish to change their booking to do so via ba.com, where they can also request a voucher for future travel if their flight continues to operate.”