By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Travel Radar - Aviation NewsTravel Radar - Aviation News
  • Breaking News
  • Aviation
    • Aircraft
    • Airlines
    • Airshow & Events
    • Careers
    • Manufacturing
  • Travel
    • Airports
    • Points & Loyalty
    • Technology
    • Trip Reviews
  • Newsletters
Reading: Heathrow Caps Passenger Numbers to Stem Disruptions
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Font ResizerAa
Travel Radar - Aviation NewsTravel Radar - Aviation News
  • Breaking News
  • Aviation
    • Aircraft
    • Airlines
    • Airshow & Events
    • Careers
    • Manufacturing
  • Travel
    • Airports
    • Points & Loyalty
    • Technology
    • Trip Reviews
  • Newsletters
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Copyright © Travel Radar Media Ltd. 2024 | All Rights Reserved
Travel Radar - Aviation News > News > Heathrow Caps Passenger Numbers to Stem Disruptions

Heathrow Caps Passenger Numbers to Stem Disruptions

Josh McMinn
Last updated: 14 July 2022 11:34
By Josh McMinn 3 Min Read
Share
Busy Heathrow Airport
Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport filled with queuing passengers on 4 April. | © Steve Parsons / PA Images / Getty Images.
SHARE

London’s Heathrow Airport asked airlines to stop selling tickets for summer after implementing a cap on passenger numbers. Short staffing combined with a rebound in demand for travel has left the UK hub struggling to cope. By capping the number of travellers at 100,000 a day, Heathrow hopes to mitigate future disruption.

Summer Capacity Restricted

The new measures will come into force immediately and last until 11 September this year. The airport hopes the 100,000 passenger limit will help to ease the strain on services like baggage handling, security and check-in.

Queues at Gatwick earlier this year, Heathrow struggles
Queues at Gatwick earlier this year | BBC news

In the same period in 2019, the hub was seeing between 110,000 and 125,000 daily departures, but post-Covid staffing struggles have limited its scope. The airport says the cap is in line with limits implemented by its European rivals. Amsterdam Schiphol and London Gatwick introduced similar restrictions earlier last month, with the former reducing operations by about 16%.

Heathrow Asks Airlines to Stop Selling Tickets

Heathrow’s decision comes just after the end of the UK government’s ‘slot amnesty’, which allowed airlines to voluntarily give up flights whilst avoiding some of the usual consequences. When Travel Radar spoke to Heathrow’s Chief of Staff last month, he said the airport would wait to see how effective the amnesty was before considering whether a passenger cap was needed.

The deadline for the slot-hand-in scheme was Friday, 9 July, so Heathrow has had some time to evaluate the results. The airport’s biggest customer, British Airways, gave up 10,300 summer flights as part of the scheme, but evidently, this wasn’t enough.

British Airways, Heathrow's main customer, cancelled 10,300 flights last week
British Airways, Heathrow’s main customer, cancelled 10,300 flights last week | © Simon Dawson / Reuters

“Some airlines have taken significant action, but others have not, and we believe that further action is needed now to ensure passengers have a safe and reliable journey,” CEO John Holland-Kaye said in an open letter on Tuesday.

The airport says their schedule for summer is still averaging 104,000 outbound seats a day, 4,000 over the limit. Of those 4,000 extra seats, it said around 1,500 had already been sold to passengers. “We are asking our airline partners to stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers,” Holland-Kaye said.

What are your thoughts on Heathrow’s passenger cap? Let us know in the comments below!

You Might Also Like

Emirates to Reintroduce Damascus Flights Starting July 16

Tourism Season Lost in Turkey as 4000 Hotels Face Closure

Busiest Airline and Aircraft for Air Travel in 2025

Emirates re-enters FIFA 2025: A new partnership with Al Ain FC

Menzies Aviation: ‘All In’ Sustainability Ground Handling Services

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link
What’s your thoughts?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Angry0
Josh McMinn
By Josh McMinn
Follow:
Jr Reporter - Josh is an Jr. Aviation Reporter at Travel Radar covering the latest industry news, developments and passenger experiences. Outside of reporting, Josh is a talented artist and camera operator with experience spanning several industries.
Previous Article Indian airliners Western Australia Eyes Connections with India
Next Article Apple App Store ASCA App – New Innovative App for travellers launched by Airports Company South Africa
Leave a comment
Subscribe
Login
Notify of
guest
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Stay Connected

FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
YoutubeSubscribe

Trending News

IATA Awards 2025
2025 IATA Diversity and Inclusion Award Winners Revealed
Aviation Careers Did You Know
A Photo of a Departing FedEx Airplane
FedEx and Neste Launch Sustainable Aviation Fuel Initiative
Airline Economics Airlines Aviation
Garmin SmartCharts
Garmin Simplifies Aviation Charting with SmartCharts
Aviation Technology Travel
Tourists walking at an airport to show international tourist arrival
World tourism soars: International tourist arrivals up 5% in 2025
Airports Travel
A Cathay Pacific airplane is landing.
Cathay Pacific Joins With Sinopec In a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Initiative
Airlines Aviation
//

Travel Radar is the leading digital hub for all things aviation and air-travel. Discover our latest aviation news, aviation data, insight and analysis.

Discover

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Press & PR
  • Privacy & Legal

Our Content

  • News
  • Data
  • Images
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Click here to Signup!

© Travel Radar Media Ltd. 2015-2025 | ISSN #2635-0696 | Trademark #UK00003579704
wpDiscuz
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Ads help us bring you high-quality, independent journalism for free. Support us by whitelisting us from your ad blocker.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome to the TR Community!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?