British Airways to cut 5,000 Heathrow flights

British Airways will cut around 5,000 short haul flights to and from Heathrow Airport between late October and March.

The airline said the move is aimed at minimising disruption over the winter and some long-haul flights will also be affected.

BA said it will also cut a dozen round-trips per day - totalling 629 flights - until the end of October.

Heathrow, which is BA's main hub, has capped passengers numbers flying from the airport due to staff shortages.

BA said it was "protecting key holiday destinations over half-term".

Most cancellations will be on routes which have other daily services to the same destinations, it said in a statement.

Passengers affected by the changes will be offered an alternative flight with BA or another airline or a refund, it added.

British Airways is the largest operator at Heathrow, and earlier this month suspended sales of tickets on short-haul flights from the airport for two weeks. This is to avoid exceeding its share of the airport's 100,000 per day passenger limit.

Announcing the extension, Heathrow said that the cap had worked, resulting in fewer last minute cancellations and delays, and better baggage delivery.

BA had already cut nearly 30,000 flights over the wider summer period, and had been planning a slow ramp-up towards the winter. But the passenger cap means it can't run as many as hoped.