Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the low-cost airline, said the extra capacity at the Essex airport would mean capacity for another 100,000 passengers at a time when “desperate” Heathrow is suffering further travel chaos. Ryanair’s move comes a day after Heathrow announced it was extending its 100,000-passenger-a-day cap for another six weeks, as the airline industry continues to struggle to meet increased demand for travel amid staff shortages. 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. “While abysmal Heathrow continues to mismanage air travel, Ryanair and London Stansted will continue to grow and perform,” O’Leary said. Heathrow, which last month asked airlines to stop selling summer tickets, said the introduction of the passenger cap had reduced travel chaos. 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. Airport bosses have repeatedly criticized airlines for a lack of ground services at Heathrow, which has resulted in passengers not traveling with their luggage and long waits at claim when returning home. “Our main concern is to ensure that we provide our passengers with a reliable service when they travel,” said Ross Baker, Heathrow’s chief commercial officer. “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 so when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to provide the service our passengers deserve.” Ryanair said the airline – and Stansted – are “more than adequately staffed to handle these additional flights over the autumn break”. A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said the airline was “disappointed” that Heathrow had moved to extend the passenger cap as “additional resources come on line every week and the airport experience improves”. “We’re doing everything we can to minimize disruption, getting our customers where they need to be smoothly,” he added. In June, O’Leary suggested that the military could be brought back to fill the gap in airport security caused by the prolonged recruitment, training and formal vetting process of new personnel. “Bringing in the military, as they are doing at many other European airports, will relieve the pressure on airport security,” he said.
