BA and Virgin freeze inbound Heathrow ticket sales on strike dates

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic confirmed they have stopped selling new tickets for flights landing at Heathrow on 23-26 Dec and 28-31 Dec, aligning with Border Force strike dates. The move follows a request from Heathrow Airport, which fears Christmas-week passenger flows could overwhelm skeleton passport-control staffing. Existing bookings remain valid, but travellers may be re-routed to off-peak services.

Corporate-travel managers should audit bookings immediately and, where possible, shift critical trips to earlier dates or alternative airports such as Stansted or Luton. The International Air Transport Association warned that last-minute cancellations could push up fares across the network as capacity tightens.

Heathrow says it plans to keep all terminals open but cannot rule out introducing passenger-flow metering similar to the 2022 post-pandemic summer cap. Firms relying on just-in-time air freight via passenger belly-hold space should explore dedicated cargo options.

Unions accused Heathrow of “artificially engineering scarcity” to pressure staff, while the Home Office said restricting demand was “responsible planning”. Whatever the politics, mobile-talent teams face another festive-season headache.