London's Heathrow Airport said Tuesday that it is setting a new limit of 1 lakh passengers a day as it asked airlines to stop selling tickets for summer travel. Here is all you need to know about this unexpected announcement from UK’s biggest and busiest airport and what it could mean for your summer travel plans.
What is Heathrow Airport’s new capacity cap?
London's Heathrow Airport has announced that it will implement a cap on the number of passengers allowed to fly out daily from the airport. Only 100,000 passengers will be allowed to depart from the airport on any given day.
When does the new cap start?
The cap was effective immediately from July 12 and will be in place till September 11.
Why is it happening?
Like many airports around the world, Heathrow is struggling to cope with a surge in air travel after the pandemic. Airports and airlines, which laid off employees during Covid, are now struggling to recruit staff as air travel sees a renewed demand.
“New colleagues are learning fast but are not yet up to full speed. However, there are some critical functions in the airport which are still significantly under resourced, in particular ground handlers, who are contracted by airlines to provide check-in staff, load and unload bags and turnaround aircraft,” Heathrow said, explaining that the staff shortage has put significant constraints on the airport and seen service quality drop to unacceptable levels with baggage delays, long queues and more.
The airport has implemented a daily cap on passengers to minimise further disruptions and provide more reliable service to passengers.
I’m booked to fly out of Heathrow Airport. What should I do?
Sit tight and wait. Your flight will go ahead as per schedule unless the airline contacts you about any changes. Keep an eye out for flight updates and check your airline’s website before you leave for the airport.
Are there going to be any flight disruptions?
Flight disruptions are likely as the new cap comes into place. Some passengers will most probably have to deal with their flights being cancelled or rescheduled.
“We recognise that this will mean some summer journeys will either be moved to another day, another airport or be cancelled and we apologise to those whose travel plans are affected,” acknowledged Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye.
I have a connecting flight out of Heathrow. What should I do?
Your flight will go ahead as planned unless the airline informs you about any changes or cancellations. You should keep an eye out for any possible updates.
Can I still book a flight out of London’s Heathrow Airport?
Airlines have been asked to stop selling unsold seats on flights departing from Heathrow. "The latest forecasts indicate that even despite the amnesty, daily departing seats over the summer will average 104,000 - giving a daily excess of 4,000 seats. On average only about 1,500 of these 4,000 daily seats have currently been sold to passengers, and so we are asking our airline partners to stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers,” said the airport CEO.
What are the alternatives?
If you need to fly out from London, there are five others airports you could consider: Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City Airport and Southend.
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