Heathrow cap daily passenger numbers to 100,000 this summer as travel chaos continues

Heathrow cap daily passenger numbers to 100,000 this summer as travel chaos continues
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Aden-Jay Wood

By Aden-Jay Wood


Published: 12/07/2022

- 11:29

Updated: 12/07/2022

- 11:39

No more than 100,000 daily passengers will be able to depart from July 12 until September 11

Heathrow Airport has introduced a cap on passenger numbers this summer as the aviation sector struggles to cope with demand for travel.

No more than 100,000 daily passengers will be able to depart from July 12 until September 11, the west London airport announced.


Airlines planned to operate flights with a daily capacity averaging 104,000 seats over that period, according to Heathrow.

File photo dated 29/10/12 of a plane taking off from Heathrow Airport. Heathrow Airport must reduce its passenger charges amid a surge in demand for flights, the aviation regulator has announced. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the cap on the west London airport's average charge per passenger will fall from 30.19 today to 26.31 in 2026. Issue date: Tuesday June 28, 2022.
Heathrow Airport has introduced a cap on passenger numbers this summer
Steve Parsons

John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Heathrow Airport, in conversation with Baroness Ruby Mc Gregor-Smith, BCC President, during the British Chambers Commerce Annual Global conference at the QEII Centre, London. Picture date: Thursday June 30, 2022.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye
Yui Mok

The airport said it has ordered airlines to “stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers”.

Heathrow Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye said: “Over the past few weeks, as departing passenger numbers have regularly exceeded 100,000 a day, we have started to see periods when service drops to a level that is not acceptable.”

Problems include long queue times, delays for passengers requiring assistance, bags not travelling with passengers or arriving late, low punctuality and last-minute cancellations, Mr Holland-Kaye said.

He said this is due to a combination of poor punctuality of arrivals due to delays at other airports and in European airspace, as well as increased passenger numbers “starting to exceed the combined capacity of airlines, airline ground handlers and the airport”.

He added: “Our colleagues are going above and beyond to get as many passengers away as possible, but we cannot put them at risk for their own safety and wellbeing.”

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