British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) is planning to open a crew base at Madrid Barajas airport, its first overseas short-haul base, to cope with a shortage of cabin crew in the United Kingdom, the Sunday Telegraph has reported.

The British carrier will recruit crew members locally in Spain, which will allow it to bypass lengthy security clearance bottlenecks in the UK. The recent wave of cancellations sparked fears that without urgent remedial measures, the carrier's operations during the summer 2022 season would be heavily disrupted.

The base will be a short-term solution only for the peak summer season.

"We are looking at a range of temporary options to ensure we can support our customers this summer as we ramp our operation back up," the carrier said.

British Airways flies to the Spanish capital, which is already a base for fellow IAG International Airlines Group carriers Iberia and Iberia Express, exclusively from London Heathrow.

Currently, British Airways maintains crew bases only at London Heathrow and London Gatwick, the ch-aviation PRO airlines module shows.