The airline has notified airport slot authorities that it will axe up to 105,000 seats – 76,000 from Heathrow and 29,400 from Gatwick – on routes to mostly European destinations including Spain, the Balearics, the Algarve and Greece.

The move comes as the government announced the relaxation of airport slot rules until this Friday, allowing airlines to cancel flights without losing slots and facing penalties.

BA said the alleviation of pressure to retain airport slots has allowed it to slim down its summer schedule: “[It] will help us to provide the certainty our customers deserve by making it easier to consolidate some of our quieter daily flights to multi-frequency destinations well in advance, and to protect more of our holiday flights,” a BA spokesperson said.

In May, the airline said it would reduce its flying schedule by 10% up until October. The latest wave of cancellations equals a total of 11% of BA’s scheduled flights for July – with 14% cancelled from Gatwick and almost 7% from Heathrow.

"As the entire aviation industry continues to face the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions. We’re in touch with customers to apologise and offer to rebook them or issue a full refund," the spokesperson said.