British Airways said yesterday it would cut 10,000 short-haul flights to and from Heathrow between late October and March as it continues to be impacted by industry-wide staff shortages.
The move is aimed at minimising disruption over the winter, and some long-haul flights will also be affected.
BA said it will also cut a dozen round-trips per day - totalling 629 flights - until the end of October.
Heathrow, which is the airline's main hub, has capped passenger numbers flying from the airport due to staff shortages.
Guy Hobbs, editor of Which? Travel, told the Telegraph: "Though BA's cuts may avoid another raft of last-minute cancellations, thousands of people will now be anxious about whether their travel plans could be affected.
"BA must act without delay to provide travellers with clarity on which flights are being cut, and make affected passengers aware of their rebooking and refund rights."
The airline cut around 10,000 jobs in the Covid crisis as it burned through cash during repeated lockdowns.
Struggle to recruit
Along with others in the industry, it has since struggled to hire enough workers to cope with the post-pandemic rebound in demand.
Staff shortages triggered thousands of flight cancellations over the summer months, as well as long queues at airports and delays returning baggage to customers.
The Telegraph says BA's latest announcement is the first confirmation that upheaval will extend well into 2023.
The airline scrapped around 16,000 flights or 13% of planned trips over the summer and it has now trimmed around 8% of its winter schedule.
Alex Macheras, an independent aviation analyst, said BA had been forced to act early to make sure it can deliver on remaining flights with current staffing levels.
But he warned the airline would have to contend with three significant travel peaks in the months ahead as customers travelled abroad for Thanksgiving, the Fifa World Cup in Qatar and Christmas get-togethers.
Analysts at Oxford Economics have estimated the global aviation industry shed about 2.3million jobs as it was shut down to stop the spread of coronavirus. It has since proved a huge challenge to find new staff who can replace those lost.