Boost for Brits flying out of Heathrow Airport with major change TOMORROW

HOLIDAYMAKERS flying out of Heathrow Airport will be happy to hear the cap on passenger numbers is finally being lifted.

As of tomorrow, Brits travel plans will no longer be impacted by the 100,000 daily passenger limit that was introduced this summer.

2

It was brought in to restrict the number of people flying through the country’s busiest airport due to a lack of workers and a surge in travel following the pandemic.

In a statement released today, London Heathrow Airport confirmed they would scrap the measure on October 30.

It will now be able to operate at full capacity, despite still desperately needing to recruit thousands more employees.

Chaotic scenes ensued when Heathrow was forced to repeatedly cancel a slew of flights due to a lack of staff.

But bosses did warn the cap could return around Christmas as people fly across the world to celebrate the festive season.

The airport said: “We are working with airlines to agree a highly targeted mechanism that, if needed, would align supply and demand on a small number of peak days in the lead-up to Christmas.

“This would encourage demand into less busy periods, protecting the heavier peaks, and avoiding flight cancellations due to resource pressures.”

Although the number of seats and flights were drastically lower than usual, Heathrow has still enjoyed a promising few months.

They said a whopping 18 million passengers had passed through – more than any airport in Europe – allowing them to regain their title as the continent’s busiest airport.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “Everyone at Heathrow pulled together to serve consumers this summer.

CAP WAS ‘THE RIGHT THING TO DO’

“We have lifted the summer cap and are working with airlines and their ground handlers to get back to full capacity at peak times as soon as possible.”

The airport said the number of travellers was unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels “for a number of years.”

Chiefs expect there to be 25 per cent less passengers this year compared to 2019 – thanks to the cost of living crisis, the war in Ukraine and the lasting impact of Covid.

Holland-Kaye told the Today programme they don’t want to have a cap “at all”, but realise they have to keep supply and demand in balance.

“It was absolutely the right thing to do over the summer,” he added.

“It meant for the summer holidays people could get away with confidence.”

The cap was initially expected to be lifted on September 11, before Heathrow admitted it did not have enough resources or staff in place.

They extended it in August, coming off the back of a summer of hell at Britain’s airports.

2