An Easter sunshine rush won’t ensure a bright future for BA

A passenger at Heathrow Terminal 5: IT failures saw BA make a series of apparently self-inflicted cancellations in February. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

So will the Easter getaway herald the resurrection of British Airways and its owner International Airlines Group (IAG), or will the computer say no? The first big holiday break of the year and the start of the summer season should, according to IAG forecasts, bring a bumper crop of passengers after the grim first two years of the pandemic.

The flag carrier expects to fly at full capacity on its most lucrative transatlantic services this summer, and last week returned to some outposts it had deserted at the height of the pandemic: Sydney in Australia, and London’s Gatwick and City airports.