News

BRITISH Airways has performed a U-turn in the face of a growing backlash over back-dated Agency Debit Memos by waiving ticketing deadline fines issued up until the end of last month.

The decision follows an emergency meeting between the carrier and ABTA's senior aviation experts, who told BA that ADMs dating back to January 2001 were threatening agents' livelihoods.

UK and Ireland head of sales Tiffany Hall called the move "a gesture of goodwill". She said: "We have always had the same rules about ticketing deadlines but we recognise we have turned a blind eye to them in the past."

Agents who have already been debited for ticketing deadline violations dating from before the end of February will be refunded, but fines issued for other violations will remain, said Hall. She also warned the trade that all ticketing rules would be rigorously enforced in future.

ABTA welcomed the national carrier's U-turn but agents remained suspicious of BA's motives.