Major UK carrier, British Airways, has slashed more than 2,000 flights from its schedule until March 2022.

The cutting of flights is a result of reduced demand for air travel thanks to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic—particularly the Omicron variant. The decision has affected both domestic routes like London to Belfast and transcontinental flights like London to Cape Town.

Affected passengers will be able to receive a full refund or swap flights. Aviation website Simple Flying reports that data from Cirium has shown that British Airways has cut 2,144 flights from its winter schedule, more than half of which were planned for January 2022.

The airline has dropped 210 flights in December, 1,146 in January, 210 in February and 243 in March. When questioned by the Sun newspaper, a British Airways spokesperson said that the changes were nothing to do with the new Omicron variant or increased travel restrictions.

However, the spokesperson explained that the move is intended to clean up the airline’s schedule, as the carrier has done throughout the pandemic because of reduced demand for flights.

The British Airline spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: “Like other airlines, due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic we are operating a reduced and dynamic schedule.”

New travel rules effective today

New travel rules designed to slow the spread of the Omicron variant have been rolled out today (December 8) by the United Kingdom government. As of 4:00 am this morning, everyone over the age of 12 planning on entering the UK must take a pre-departure COVID test before they travel.

Arrivals from non-red list countries must then isolate until they receive a negative result from a PCR test. Arrivals from ‘red list’ countries must isolate for 11 nights in a designated quarantine hotel.

However, as reported by Sun Online Travel, quarantine hotels are full, leaving Brits stuck in red list countries with nowhere to go.

Ryanair has also cancelled flights recently with more than 230,000 passengers facing disrupted travel plans. Tour operator Saga has cancelled some holidays for 2022, affecting around 3,000 bookings.