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Heathrow Airport, a crucial global travel hub,

extends passenger cap of 100,000 by a month
amid travel chaos
Grace Dean and Kate Duffy Aug 16, 2022, 11:17 AM UTC+2

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Jump toAirport said it's asking airlines to stop selling summer tickets. Carl Court/Getty Images
Heathrow

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Search Major UK airport Heathrow has extended flight restrictions until
AccountOctober as travel disruption continues.
 It previously announced a cap of 100,000 passengers flying per
day from the airport until September.

The airport said on Monday the cap may be lifted before October
if staffing levels increase.

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London Heathrow Airport, a key global aviation hub, said on

Monday it has extended its daily cap on passengers by one month.

Heathrow, which was the busiest airport in Europe until the

COVID-19 pandemic, announced on July 12 that it had introduced a
cap of 100,000 passengers flying each day amid mounting chaos at
airports and airlines around the world.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye previously said the cap would

last until September 11. Now, the cap will be extended to October 29,
according to Monday's statement.

The passenger cap has meant there were fewer last-minute

cancellations, more on-time flights, and shorter waits for luggage,
according to Heathrow's statement. The airport said the cap could
Jump tobe lifted earlier than the end of October if there is an increase in
staff levels, especially baggage handlers.
Main content
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"We want to remove the cap as soon as possible, but we can only do
Account
so when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has
 the resources to deliver the service our passengers deserve," Ross
Baker, Heathrow's chief commercial officer, said in the statement.

Delta passengers stand in line for check-in at Heathrow Airport on Monday, July 11. Grace
Dean/Insider

When the cap was brought in in July, Heathrow asked airlines to

stop selling summer tickets, something Emirates initially called
"unacceptable" before later agreeing to cut ticket sales. British
Airways, the UK's flagship carrier, temporarily suspended the sale
of short-haul tickets from Heathrow.

Holland-Kaye said in July that the maximum number of departing

passengers Heathrow can serve over the summer is 100,000 a day,
but that this limit had frequently been exceeded, leading to long
lines, lost luggage, and flight delays and cancellations. Before the
airport announced the cap, daily departing seats over the summer
were set to average 104,000, Holland-Kaye said.

Heathrow and individual airlines had been advising customers to

arrive at the airport three hours before their scheduled departure
Jump to
time in case of long lines for check-in and security. The BBC
Mainrecently
content reported that some passengers had been arriving at
Search
Stansted, another airport in London, five hours before their flight,
Account
leading to congestion.
 In July, Heathrow also announced that 750 members of its non-
operational staff would be volunteering at the airport to help
customers.

Uncollected suitcases piled up at Heathrow's Terminal Three baggage reclaim on Friday, July
8. Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

In an investor report in June, Heathrow said that it expected to

serve 54.4 million passengers in 2022 – 9 million more than first
forecast in December and putting it at around two-thirds of 2019
levels.

The mounting chaos at airports comes amid a huge surge in the

number of passengers traveling post-lockdown. Heathrow said that
by the end of May it had already surpassed the total number of
passengers it served in 2021. More than 6.3 million people flew to
Jump to
and from the airport in July, bringing the annual total so far to 32.4
Mainmillion,
content it said.
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Account
Heathrow said in early August that around 80% of passengers go
through security in 20 minutes or less.
 Read next

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