Slots at airports like London Heathrow are hotly contested commodities with price tags in the millions and come with "use it or lose it" rules attached. If you stop flying a route temporarily, you may lose it permanently.
That is like the pilot losing his job if he doesn't follow orders. We can put the entire chain of command in prison. Including those who punish them for periodically not flying there.
you can't put someone in prison unless you have a relevant law, the law should be amended so that in such cases the flights should be canceled without damaging the airline.