IT outage forces BA to cancel hundreds of flights
March 01, 2022
British Airways has been forced to cancel more than 500 flights over the past three days because of a major IT outage at London Heathrow on 25 February. The IAG-owned carrier says it plans to operate its normal schedule on 28 February and is “working hard to make sure our customers are able to seamlessly travel through the airport to get them on their way as quickly as possible”. It adds that the outage was caused by hardware issue and not a cyber attack. On 26 February, BA cancelled all short-haul services from Heathrow as it sought to prioritise long-haul operations. BA has a troubled history of being impacted by IT issues, with incidents in 2017 and 2019, and a 2018 hack of customer account details, for which it was fined £20 million ($27 million). “This issue needs to seriously addressed by the management team,” writes Goodbody aviation analyst Mark Simpson, “with the fact that four such incidents looks more like underinvestment rather than ‘carelessness’.”
Air Baltic extends suspension of Russia flights
March 01, 2022
Latvian airline Air Baltic has extended the suspension of flights to and from Russia until the end of May due to restrictions imposed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as safety concerns. “The safety and security of our passengers and employees is the main priority of Air Baltic,” the flag carrier says. Air Baltic says it is evaluating the current situation before each flight and remains in close contact with national and international authorities. It adds that it is flexible and ready to adjust its flight schedule when necessary. Air Baltic had previously decided to cancel flights to Russia from 26 February until 26 March.
EU bans supply of aircraft spare parts to Russia
February 28, 2022
The European Union and UK government have announced several trade and aviation-related sanctions on Russia following the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The EU has imposed a ban on the export of aircraft spare parts to Russia. The measure “will affect the key sector of the Russian economy and the country's connectivity”, it says, as three-quarters of Russia's current commercial aircraft fleet was built in the EU, the USA and Canada. The UK government has imposed a ban on Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft, a holding company that includes all major Russian aircraft manufacturers such as MiG and Sukhoi. With this ban, Slyusar will not be able to travel to the UK and any UK-based assets will be frozen, the government says. Russian flag carrier Aeroflot has also been banned from using the UK’s airspace.