British Airways passengers get email mid-flight cancelling next leg

‘Please call to book new flight’ passengers told while over the Atlantic

A BA A320 (Getty Images)

British Airways passengers have complained that the airline cancelled the second leg of their journey while they were already on the first flight travelling to catch it.

Three customers say that they received a cancellation email while still in mid-air, but only received it when back online after landing - just two hours before they were due to take the cancelled flight.

To make matters worse, the airline then lost their luggage, leaving them to travel on to their destination without essential belongings.

Raynee Graeff, Victoria Esparza, and Robert Esparza had flown from Austin, Texas on Sunday night, with plans to connect at London Heathrow for a flight to Edinburgh, where they were attending the British Open golf tournament.

However, they say they were already flying over the Atlantic when they were sent a notification that their BA London-Edinburgh flight was cancelled.

The group had booked tickets through American Airlines, in a codeshare with British Airways, who operated both flights.

Robert Esparza told Insider that the cancellation - which urged him to “Please call to book a new flight” - arrived at 6.43pm, shortly after his first flight had taken off from Austin.

“One of your flights was canceled and we were unable to rebook your trip from LHR to EDI,” said the American Airlines email, which was viewed by Insider. “We’re sorry for the change to your travel plans.”

The email did not give a reason for the last-minute cancellation, but informed passengers they could call to rebook a new flight, request a refund or accept the value of their ticket as future credit.

The group received the notification after landing at 9.50am on Monday - leaving a two-hour window before their intended flight time to rearrange the Edinburgh leg, amid mass cancellations at Heathrow.

Amid the chaos of trying to arrange an alternative journey, all three found their bags had not emerged at Heathrow’s baggage claim.

In the end, they took a train up to Edinburgh, arriving at 1am the following morning rather than their planned flight arrival time of 1.30pm.

Ms Graeff says she had spent $1,291 (£1,091) on her return Austin-Edinburgh ticket, booking eight months ahead for the long-anticipated sporting event.

The Independent has approached British Airways for comment.

Amid the travel chaos of spring and summer 2022, British Airways has cut some 30,000 flights from its planned summer schedule.

Heathrow has also been plagued by baggage handling and ground staff issues, with thousands of lost bags piling up in recent weeks.

The airport’s management team has asked airlines to stop selling flights for the rest of the summer peak in an unprecedented move.

John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of London Heathrow, has imposed a daily cap of 100,000 departing passengers until 11 September 2022.