London Heathrow Airport (LHR) in the UK has announced that it will extend the current limits on passenger capacity until 29 October to support reliable journeys.
The airport stated it had made this decision at the end of this quarter after consulting with airline companies.
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Heathrow anticipates this move to offer passengers confidence before their ‘half-term getaways’.
Last month, the airport apologised to passengers for travel disruption after it registered a record passenger surge of what it claims to be four decades of traffic growth just in the last four months alone.
During the same month, Heathrow temporarily imposed a daily passenger limit of 100,000 from 12 July 2022 to 11 September 2022 to better accommodate passengers at the airport.
Now in the latest statement, Heathrow said: “By better balancing passenger demand with available resources, we are able to operate a safe airport ecosystem that prioritises passenger needs. Since then, the cap has resulted in fewer last-minute cancellations, better punctuality and shorter waits for bags.”
Many airports, including Frankfurt (FRA) and Schiphol (AMS), have imposed equivalent capacity limits. Schiphol has extended its restrictions until the end of October.
Going forward, Heathrow airport said that the capacity restrictions will be reviewed on a regular basis and may even see an earlier removal of the cap based on sustained and better resilience and an increase in resourcing levels, especially at some airline ground handlers.
It will work with airlines and ground handlers as part of an overall review of the ecosystem.
Heathrow chief commercial officer Ross Baker said: “Our primary concern is ensuring we give our passengers a reliable service when they travel. That’s why we introduced temporary capacity limits in July, which have already improved journeys during the summer getaway.
“We want to remove the cap as soon as possible, but we can only do so when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to deliver the service our passengers deserve.”
