British Airways says using AI has allowed it to increase punctuality at Heathrow, to a level where more than 90 per cent of its flights are leaving on time.
The airline said it has invested £100 million ($133 million) in improving its operational resilience, which has funded the development of a range of digital tools and apps.
British Airways has been dogged by IT failures, which have caused chaos for passengers left stranded at Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport. Last year, a glitch left pilots unable to file flight plans, while in 2017 an error during a systems upgrade brought the entire BA Heathrow operation to a standstill.
British Airways has now revealed the first quarter of 2025 saw 86 per cent of its flights leave on time from its London Heathrow base, which represents a punctuality performance record. The previous high was 46 per cent in 2008.
Throughout the quarter, the airline boasts that its flights achieved 90 per cent plus on-time departures on 38 of the 89 operational days.
In April, two-thirds of all British Airways flights departing from Heathrow left ahead of their departure time. The figure is more than double the number that achieved this for the same period in 2023 and almost 20 per cent more than those that did in 2024.
Examples of how it has used AI include one system that enables staff to allocate aircraft landing at Heathrow to stands based on a live analysis of passengers’ onward travel plans, reducing the likelihood of missed connections. This is estimated to have saved 160,000 minutes of delays.
Another system proactively reroutes aircraft to avoid areas of poor weather, preventing some 243,000 minutes of delays.
Over the coming months, additional tools and programmes are also being deployed to further improve operational performance. These include new apps for pilots, cabin crew teams and aircraft dispatch teams to help speed-up aircraft departures.
British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said what the “tech colleagues have at their fingertips has been a real game-changer for performance” and allows them to make rapid decisions to help get flights away on time.
“Improving operational performance is a key part of our investment programme because we know the impact delays and disruption can have on our customers,” Mr Doyle told an innovation summit in Pittsburgh in the US
“While disruption to our flights is often outside of our control, our focus has been on improving the factors we can directly influence and putting in place the best possible solutions for our customers when it does happen.”
Mr Doyle said the airline will start using additional AI tools over the coming months and has created is looking at devising better ways of working on the ground at Heathrow, as well as creating an additional 600 operational roles into the airport.
“It’s exciting that our industry is able to harness this capability, which will develop even further in the months and years to come,” he said.
Meanwhile, Heathrow itself has revealed it has the best departure punctuality out of the major European hubs. The airport did not name any of its rivals but Istanbul, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Amsterdam's Schipol airport and Frankfurt are the next busiest hubs in Europe.
The airport also said 99 per cent of bags were delivered on time and 97 per cent of passengers clearing security in under five minutes.
Other airlines deploying AI to improve their performance include Abu Dhabi based Etihad, which says it will roll out the technology across its operations from bookings and complaints to in-flight streaming.
Dubai will use artificial intelligence and cutting-edge technology to redesign the check-in, security and immigration procedures at its planned passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport.
The biog
Marital status: Separated with two young daughters
Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo
Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian
Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness
Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
EPL's youngest
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Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
