British Airways has cut its food service and will no longer provide two meals to economy passengers on flights under eight and a half hours, according to a report by Independent.

The apparent cost-cutting measures also apply to journeys of less than seven hours for premium economy passengers.

The reduced menu was introduced last month and came after reports the airline was going to charge for its meals.

Instead of two full meals passengers will get only one and might have to make do with snacks if they get hungrier later in the flight. The choices of alcohol and complimentary snacks will not be affected, a BA spokesman said.

Many flights from the UK to the east coast of America, including New York, take between seven and eight hours while the journey to Toronto and Montreal in Canada is around seven hours.

British Airways flights to West Africa take less than 8 hours while flights to South Africa take up to eleven hours.

Spaniard Alex Cruz, 50, took over as CEO and chairman of BA in April this year, having started his career with American Airlines 1995.

British Airways reported total profits after tax of £2.5 billion for the year ending December 2015, while parent company International Airlines Group saw a 65% rise in annual profits this year.

#BritishAirways