Heathrow Airport will be lifting the temporary passenger cap on October 29, 2022, the airport said, bringing much respite to theairlines and passengers. The airport had imposed a passenger cap as a measure to avoid long passenger queues, baggage delays, and flight cancellations leading to passenger woes. Heathrow first announced a capacity limit of 100,000 passengers per day from July 2022 till September 2022. But citing staff shortage issues, the airport management had extended the cap till October 2022.
Now as the situation has improved, with the peak season coming to an end leading to fewer last-minute cancellations and shorter waits for luggage, the airport management said in a statement. According to the data released by the airport, less than 4,000 footfalls were observed during the last three months since the passenger cap was introduced.
Many airlines had to cancel flights while British Airways temporarily stopped selling short-haul routes to meet the demands. Emirates originally rejected the limitations, but subsequently backed down and agreed to the flight cap until mid-August.
All over Europe airports have faced chaos as the travel rebound hit the authorities with full force. While some airports like Schiphol completely mismanaged the situation leading to mass strikes by overworked staff, angry passenger retorts, and airline woes, some airports like Heathrow cut down on passenger capacity to deal with the pressing problems at hand.
However, with the approaching winter season, air traffic is expected to pick up the pace once again in a couple of months. Airlines as well as passengers are hopeful that this time the airports are better equipped to deal with their needs and there will not be a repetition of the chaotic summer situation.