Some Thomas Cook customers who have booked flights from Cardiff Airport (CWL/EGFF) this summer have been forced to take alternative flights after the Airline decided to cut several flights from the schedule.
Passengers have been offered new flights, in many cases from rival Bristol Airport (BRS/EGGD) after they were contacted by Thomas Cook who told them that their flight from Cardiff would not be operating.
Thomas Cook confirmed to UK Aviation News that it was reducing the number of flights from Cardiff Airport.
The following flights are being removed:
- Lanzarote (Thursdays)
- Palma (Wednesdays)
- Ibiza (Saturdays)
The airline will be continuing with the already announced return of both the Dalaman (Turkey) and Enfidah (Tunisia) flights.
It will also maintain the summer base as a leased Airbus A321, an increase on the Airbus A320 used in previous years so the summer seat capacity is still increased from 2018 despite the reduction in flights.
The airline said that part of the reason was tight weekend turnaround times “resulting in potential delays for customers” – this was particularly prevalent with the Ibiza route but added that it regularly reviewed its routes and sometimes changes schedules based on customer demand.
Customers affected by the cancellations will receive a flight change free of charge or a refund.
Confirming the route cancellations, a spokesperson for Thomas Cook added: “We remain committed to Cardiff airport and as such, have increased the size of our aircraft based at the airport, meaning our overall capacity from Cardiff this summer is higher than in summer 18.”
