British Airways Halts Gatwick–New York Flights Due to Ongoing Engine Shortages

British Airways has canceled all of its flights between London Gatwick (LGW) and New York (JFK) from December until next spring due to ongoing supply delays of vital engine parts.

The UK flag carrier has decided to suspend the popular transatlantic route as its delivery of Rolls-Royce-made Trent 1000 engines, used to power its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, faces significant delays for the foreseeable future. The suspension is scheduled to begin on December 12, 2024, and last until the end of March 25, 2025, with at least 103 flights set to be affected.

New British Airways Boeing 787-8 Arriving from the Boeing Factory in Seattle to London Heathrow. Picture by: Stuart Bailey

London to New York is one of the world’s most popular long-haul flight routes for both leisure and business travelers and is the busiest transatlantic route by far, with dozens of daily flights between the two cities’ various airports. While suspending British Airways’ Gatwick-JFK route will certainly reduce connections between the two towns, plenty of options will remain.

British Airways also operates flights to JFK from both London Heathrow (LHR) and London City (LCY), and the carrier confirmed that both these routes will continue as normal over the winter period. Several airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic, operate nonstop connections between the UK capital and the Big Apple.

Travelers who’ve booked British Airways flights between Gatwick and JFK during the suspension period have been assured by the airline that they’ll be offered alternative flights on the same day of travel, either with BA itself or one of its partner airlines.

“We’re disappointed that we’ve had to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce – particularly about the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft,” said British Airways in a statement.

Photo: Bridge Bar at New York JFK Terminal 8. Courtesy of British Airways

“We’ve taken this action because we do not believe the issue will be solved quickly, and we want to offer our customers the certainty they deserve for their travel plans. We continue to work closely with Rolls-Royce to ensure the company is aware of its impact on our schedule and customers, and seek reassurance of a prompt and reliable solution.”

Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engines are expected to improve the fuel efficiency of British Airways’ 787 Dreamliner fleet by around 20%, but the delivery of these vital parts has been beset with problems, affecting several airlines across the world.

“We take the industry-wide issue that the aerospace supply chain is currently dealing with extremely seriously,” said a spokesperson for Rolls-Royce.

“We’ve already introduced measures that allow us to respond more quickly to issues, such as integrating our Procurement and Supplier Management teams, sharing our own raw material stocks to tackle shortages, and hiring people to work in supplier organizations; one of our most impacted suppliers currently has almost 50 Rolls-Royce supply chain staff dedicated to driving their recovery.”