British holidaymakers have been warned of potential travel chaos after British Airways axed all its flights from a top airport in the country for next summer.
The leading airline has confirmed it has suspended its summer 2025 flights from Southampton Airport. Passengers were reportedly informed of the news last Friday evening.
Aviation industry experts have warned that this will have a “significant impact” on the future of the major regional air travel hub.
So far British Airways, the second largest UK-based carrier (based on fleet size and passengers carried) behind easyJet, have declined to give a reason for the withdrawal of the routes, which include popular destinations like Malaga, Majorca and Faro.
A BA spokesperson confirmed: “We are suspending our summer 2025 operations from Southampton Airport and contacting any affected customers with options including rebooking on an alternative flight with us or another airline or a full refund.”
Just four months ago, the airline had introduced two new options for travellers with flights to Bergerac in Italy and Palma in Spain, but these have also now been axed. There are now no flights from Southampton available for the summer of 2025 on the BA website.
The move has raised concerns within the aviation industry about the future of the airport, which saw a major decline during the pandemic to around a quarter of a million passengers, but last year recorded over 750,000 people, which was well below the airport’s annual, pre-pandemic, two million passengers.
The loss of BA next summer comes as the latest blow to the airport, which in 2021 suffered from the collapse of FlyBe and the end of a whole range of routes falling off their departures and arrivals boards.
There are hopes that other airlines will be able to take over some of these dropped routes, including EasyJet. However, the neighbouring Bournemouth Airport, just 30 miles away, offers stiff competition on budget travel with more Ryanair and Jet2 routes than previously.
Experts at Aviation Direct warned that the loss of these routes could prove difficult for the airport, The Mirror reported, saying: “The question remains whether EasyJet or other airlines will take over the routes cancelled by British Airways.
“The airline had expanded its route network in recent years, which was beneficial for Southampton passengers, but British Airways’ cancellations could leave a gap that will be difficult to fill.”
A spokesperson from Southampton Airport said: “Clearly it’s disappointing when any route is removed.
“However, we are in constant dialogue with airlines regarding the introduction of new services and that includes backfilling the routes withdrawn by British Airways.”
