The capacity limit was originally due to last until September 11, but that date was pushed back to Monday, October 29, overlapping the fall semester break for most schools. The UK’s busiest airport said the move came after the introduction of the temporary cap in July had led to improved punctuality and fewer last-minute cancellations. The London hub was hardest hit by the severe disruption that hit airports across the country in the May half term and early summer, with long security queues and baggage system breakdowns. Heathrow reported an adjusted pre-tax loss of £321m for the first half of the year in July after weeks of long queues and flight cancellations. Hundreds of bags piled up at Heathrow in June after problems with the baggage system were reported and many people were forced to travel without their belongings and told they could not get them back for up to two days. Tens of thousands of flights have already been canceled this summer as the industry struggles to cope with rising demand to near-pre-pandemic levels amid staff shortages. The industry has also been accused of failing to anticipate the recovery after two years of disruption caused by the Covid pandemic. The consumer rights group Which? said the move would leave the plans of thousands of passengers in limbo. Guy Hobbs, its travel editor, described the situation as “a mess” and urged the airport to provide clarity to holidaymakers about the flight schedule. “While extending the passenger cap may help Heathrow prevent a repeat of the unacceptable last-minute cancellations we saw earlier in the summer, thousands of people will now be worried whether their travel plans could be disrupted,” he said. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “Heathrow and affected airlines must act without delay to provide travelers with clarity about which flights are being cut and airlines must ensure that affected passengers are aware of their rights to a rebooking or refund. “The airline industry and government must ensure this mess is sorted out as soon as possible – passenger caps cannot continue indefinitely.” Heathrow said the cap introduced in July had resulted in “fewer last-minute cancellations” and “shorter waits for baggage”. It added that capacity limits would be kept under review and “could be lifted sooner if there is a consistent picture of better resilience and a significant increase in resource levels”. Heathrow’s chief commercial officer, Ross Baker, said: “Our main concern is to ensure that we provide our passengers with a reliable service when they travel. “That’s why in July we introduced temporary capacity limits, which have already improved journeys during the summer break. “We want to remove the cap as soon as possible, but we can only do that when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to provide the service our passengers deserve.” Heathrow had said it had hired 1,300 people in the past six months, adding that it would return to pre-pandemic levels of security staff by the end of July. The airport said it remained loss-making and did not expect to pay dividends to shareholders for the rest of the year, but offset the increased costs through higher charges.
