According to British airways cancellation policy, If you cancel your ticket 24 hours after the booking is made, you will have to pay the cancellation penalty. If the cancellation happens to be because of an improper reason, you will be charged a cancellation fee as per your fare. Whereas cancellations done due to unavoidable reasons like covid 19 restrictions, illness, etc will be given the leniency to be exempted from paying the cancellation fees.