British Airways’ operation is back on track following a week of severe disruption caused by snowfalls at Heathrow.
It is hoped the general weather situation will continue to ease over the weekend, however further snow is forecast for Friday evening.
The airline has been buffeted by the media as well as the weather, with many newspapers and TV stations interviewing customers unhappy with long delays or cancelled flights.
“We are contacting customers who were caught up in the worst of the disruption to apologise personally and make appropriate amends,” CEO Keith Williams said this week.
“We have now recovered the travel plans of almost all customers, cleared the backlog of delayed baggage and aim to return to a normal schedule on Thursday.
“In good weather and bad, we must keep the customer at the heart of everything we do.”
In an email to colleagues, he added: “I would like to thank you all for your hard work and support over the last few days as we have battled with snow and freezing temperatures to keep our operations going and look after our customers.
“Inevitably, there have been delays and cancellations, especially at Heathrow where the lack of spare capacity puts the schedule at risk as soon as there is any hold-up to normal operations.
“But I have been encouraged by the way all parts of the business – from flight and cabin crew, to operations, engineering, cargo, back-office, contact centres and commercial – have pulled together to reduce the impact on customers whenever that was possible. Many of you have gone the extra mile in difficult circumstances, and I appreciate that. Thank-you once again.”
With services returning to normal, the call for volunteers has been suspended and the Waterside Disruption Centre stood down.