• UK’s busiest airport has ordered airlines to stop selling summer tickets.
• Heathrow will cap the number of passengers who can depart each day to 100,000.
• This is 4,000 fewer than originally planned for the busy summer months.

As the UK’s busiest airport struggles to keep up with the uptick in air travel, Heathrow Airport has ordered airlines to cease selling summer tickets.

Over the busiest summer months, the airport will cap the number of passengers who can depart each day to 100,000, which is 4,000 fewer than originally planned.

From now until September 11th, there will be a limit on the number of passengers.

There have been recent delays that have impacted thousands of UK travellers, including last-minute cancellations.

As demand for vacations has increased, airports and airlines that slashed employees during Covid lockdowns have found it difficult to fill open positions. As the school year comes to an end, the UK is set to enter the crucial summer vacation period.

Which?, a consumer advocacy group, encouraged Heathrow to make clear which flights would be cancelled in light of the most recent news.

According to Guy Hobbs, assistant editor of Which? Travel, “While this cap may reduce the intolerable congestion travellers are facing at the UK’s largest airport, thousands of individuals will now be anxious about whether their flight or vacation plans are about to fall apart.”

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“Airlines must be forthright with affected passengers about their right to be rebooked at the earliest opportunity, including on services from other airlines,” says Heathrow. “Airlines must engage with Heathrow to promptly offer clarity on which flights are being cut.”

A representative for Heathrow stated that it would take “a few of days” for airlines to consult with Airport Coordination Limited, the organisation in charge of scheduling, to determine what adjustments are required.

Following the disruption in May, which was attributed to a lack of airline and airport workers, ministers advised carriers to reconsider their plans.

Additionally, a brief “amnesty” from government regulations governing airport slots was implemented, enabling airlines to alter their summer itineraries without risking a fine.

Heathrow claimed that despite this, airlines still intended to operate aircraft carrying more passengers each day than could be handled in a reasonable amount of time.

“We have started to see periods when service drops to a level that is not acceptable,” said Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye. “Over the past few weeks, as departing passenger numbers have consistently exceeded 100,000 per day, we have started to see long queue times, delays for passengers requiring assistance, bags not travelling with passengers or arriving late, low punctuality, and last-minute cancellations.”

“According to our estimation, no more than 100,000 people can be served daily by airlines, airline ground handlers, and the airport combined throughout the summer.

“According to the most recent predictions, despite the amnesty, daily departing seats will average 104,000 over the summer, giving a daily excess of 4,000 seats. We are requesting that our airline partners stop selling summer tickets because, on average, just roughly 1,500 of the 4,000 daily seats have been purchased by travellers.”

However, Heathrow’s decision was harshly criticised by Willie Walsh, the director general of the International Air Transport Association and a former CEO of British Airways (BA).

What a ludicrous thing for an airport to tell an airline: “Tell airlines to stop selling,” Mr. Walsh told Reuters.

“I’m amazed Heathrow hasn’t been able to organise itself more effectively than this. Airline traffic forecasts have been more accurate than Heathrow’s, proving that they were utterly off.”

He continued, saying that Heathrow was attempting to maximise its profits from the airport at the expense of the airlines.

As Heathrow recovers from the epidemic, the number of passengers flying through the airport has increased.

Although they are still lower than pre-coronavirus levels, when the airport handled 110,000 to 125,000 departures per day on average.

Mr. Holland-Kaye expressed regret to travellers whose plans may have been impacted by the change.

But doing this is the correct thing to do in order to offer a better, more dependable journey and to ensure the safety of all airport employees.

“Stands ready to deliver its full programme this summer,” Virgin Atlantic stated.

“However, as long as the proposed course of action does not disproportionately affect domestic carriers at the airport, we support Heathrow’s proactive actions to minimise disruption.

Actions should be supported by extensive analysis outlining the best ways to improve the issue and keep customers moving.

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