British Airways suspends Bahrain and Kuwait “by the end of Q1 2025”

British Airways has announced it will suspend services to Bahrain and Kuwait early next year. Passengers on impacted services were informed this morning.

The news follows hot on the heels of BA pulling its own aircraft off Dallas and Miami services, to be replaced by flights from joint venture partner American Airlines.

In a letter to colleagues, the airline says it continues to “navigate a challenging operating environment”.

Rolls-Royce delivery delays strike again

The culprit, once again, appears to be down to engines. Delays on receiving engines and parts from Rolls-Royce, particularly for the Trent 1000 engines that power BA’s Boeing 787 fleet, “have significantly impacted” the flying schedule and was one of the reasons the launch of flights to Kuala Lumpur was pulled at the last minute, as well.

“The impact of this supply chain issue has meant we’ve been using standby aircraft from our 777 fleet to avoid cancellations. What’s more, equipment manufacturers and suppliers globally are struggling to meet demand, increasing the risk of further disruptions to our flying schedule.

Our teams have been working tirelessly to ensure our aircraft are available to meet the needs of the flying schedule. However, unfortunately, the measures we’ve introduced so far are no longer sustainable, and a more substantial course of action is now needed.”

That course of action involves suspending flights to Bahrain and Kuwait by the end of March. It seems these routes were underperforming, with BA suggesting that “these routes are currently not as viable as others.”

Bahrain and Kuwait are not exactly routes with high leisure demand, so it speaks to the post-covid environment that these previous business heavy routes have been cut over other, leisure oriented routes. I think few people on HfP will mourn the loss of these two destinations and will be happy that others, such as the recently restarted flights to Bangkok, continue.

It will, unfortunately, lead to a number of redundancies in Bahrain where BA has a cabin crew base.

BA has been flying to the region since 1932

Amazingly, the predecessor airlines of British Airways have been flying to the Gulf since 1932. Did you know that London to Bahrain was the first route flown by Concorde?

In 1992, to celebrate 60 years, British Airways produced this video (click to visit YouTube) which is a fascinating look at how flying used to be.

This couple don’t look like the sort who would appreciate ‘breakfast pancakes’ served at 1pm:

What are you entitled to if your flight has been cancelled?

If you have a flight to Bahrain or Kuwait beyond the first quarter next year then you should already have received an email from British Airways informing you of the cancellation. Don’t forget you are entitled to your EU261 rights, which means you have a choice of:

• a full refund
• re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity
• re-routing at a later date at your convenience under comparable transport conditions, subject to the availability of seats

Guidance on the British Airways A travel trade website suggests that anyone with a flight scheduled from 1st January 2025 until 31st December 2025 will be able to change their flights, although you won’t be able to claim a refund unless your flight was cancelled. It’s not clear why BA is letting people move from flights which in theory, between January and March, are still operating.

The current guidance suggests that you will be able to rebook onto any date with availability with British Airways. Alternatively, BA will let you rebook onto a Qatar Airways service +/- 14 days of your original travel dates.

Gulf Air and Kuwait Airways are the only other airlines to fly direct from London to these destinations, respectively, but BA has not announced any rebooking onto these airlines (yet). As we saw with the delayed launch of flights to Kuala Lumpur, it may be worth waiting a few days to see what other options pop up, rather than rushing to the phone immediately.

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