Now Virgin joins BA's row with Rolls Royce as supply issues at engine maker are blamed for airlines having to ground hundreds of flights

A row between British Airways and Rolls-Royce escalated yesterday after the airline blamed its engine maker for having to ground hundreds of flights.

Rolls-Royce produces engines for BA's fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners but maintenance is taking longer due to shortages in its supply chain .

Virgin Atlantic also reportedly had to ground flights over the weekend due to issues with the same Trent 1000 engine.

Rolls faced a backlash from bosses of both carriers who criticised the engine manufacturer over the delays.

Last week BA was criticised by former ministers after the Mail revealed it is axing flights to Bahrain from late March, just weeks before the start of the popular Bahrain Grand Prix.

The move, which also includes cancelling flights to Kuwait, caused outrage among diplomats.

Dr Liam Fox, who was defence secretary under David Cameron, told the Mail the move would send 'totally the wrong message' about Britain's diplomatic intentions while also harming UK business interests in the region.

'When the Gulf is becoming much more important geopolitically and we are attempting to negotiate new trade agreements in the region, this would be a blow to UK PLC,' he said.

But BA pointed the finger of blame at Rolls-Royce, with an insider telling The Sunday Telegraph the group 'needs to get their act together'.

'It's completely unacceptable that tens of thousands of our customers are having their travel plans cancelled because of the continuing failure of Rolls-Royce,' they added. It has also cancelled flights to Dallas, Texas.

BA is owned by Anglo-Spanish conglomerate IAG, which also controls carriers Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Level.

It was also reported that Virgin Atlantic is preparing to axe routes due to problems with the Trent 1000 engine.

Virgin's flights to Tel Aviv were set to restart in March 2025 and a new route to Accra in Ghana was due to launch in May 2025.

But both journeys have been pushed back to late October 2025 at the earliest due to the debacle.

Rolls-Royce said it is doing all it can to resolve the supply chain issues that have affected the sector since the pandemic.