Heathrow Airport says the daily 100,000 passenger cap it introduced to reduce chaos at its terminals and avoid surprise cancellations is paying off.
The airport said on Thursday that operations had become smoother, helping more flights to leave on time and fewer flights scrapped at the last-minute flight.
More than six million people travelled through Britain's busiest airport in July and it expects about 16 million passengers between July and September as travel rebounds.
“Integral to increasing the departing passenger cap is increasing airline ground handler capacity and resilience, and we have initiated a review of ground handling to support that objective,” Heathrow said.
The airport capped the number of departures at 100,000 a day from July to September 11 to limit queues, baggage delays and cancellations, to the consternation of some airlines, including Emirates, which increased its number of flights to London's Gatwick Airport.
It led British Airways to halt ticket sales on some short-haul services to make room for passengers who have had their flights scrapped.
Last week, the airport blamed novice travellers for causing delays and long queues by not being abreast of security rules such as limits on carrying liquids.
Heathrow, which has come under fire for failing to react swiftly enough to the lifting of travel restrictions, pointed out that its recruitment for this summer’s holiday began last November, and that it had hired an additional 1,300 recruits.
It said security resources were back at pre pandemic levels, enabling 88 per cent of passengers to clear security within 20 minutes or less.
The airport said it was also working to help the Border Force to boost its numbers for the peak summer period.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “Passengers are seeing better, more reliable journeys since the introduction of the demand cap. I want to thank all my colleagues across the airport for their amazing work in getting people away on their holidays. This has only been possible because of the collective and determined efforts of airport, airline and wider Team Heathrow teams.”
Heathrow's update comes as budget airline Ryanair called on the next UK prime minister to have the “backbone” to secure a deal with the EU to open up the free movement of labour.
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Long queues, cancellations and luggage problems have plagued Heathrow Airport since the travel sector’s comeback from coronavirus restrictions. Bloomberg -
The airport has struggled to cope with a volume of more than 100,000 departing passengers a day, with bags arriving late, queues snaking through terminals and flights being cancelled at the 11th hour. Reuters -
Travelling through Heathrow has been a dire experience for some of late. AP -
Suitcases uncollected at Heathrow's Terminal 3 baggage reclaim. AFP -
There is a shortage of staff after many people were laid off during the pandemic. AP -
Heathrow rejects the accusation of having failed to prepare, saying it started recruiting extra staff last November. AP -
Baggage piles up outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow in June. Baggage issues have bedevilled the airport, with a combination of staff shortages and malfunctioning automated baggage handling systems contributing to the mayhem. Reuters -
One traveller shows his disappointment while waiting in a long queue to pass through a security check in June. Getty Images -
Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 5. Bloomberg -
A queue snakes through the airport. Getty Images -
A waiting passenger decides to get some sleep in Terminal 5. Reuters -
Long queues form through a terminal. PA -
A crowded check in area in Terminal 2 in April. Heathrow rejects the accusation of having failed to prepare, saying it started recruiting months ago. PA -
A dejected looking passenger queues for check-in ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend at Heathrow in April. Reuters -
People queuing to go through security at Heathrow. PA -
Queues at arrivals in Heathrow in March. Photo: Sven Kili / Twitter
A shortage of staff has been behind many of the problems seen at UK airports.
Much of the problem lay with the speed that airlines were able to rehire or recruit staff after thousands were let go during the Covid pandemic.
In the meantime, post-Brexit rules make it more difficult to hire foreign staff.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think the first thing they should do to boost the British economy is prioritise a trade deal with the European Union — a good starting point for that would be to open up the free movement of labour between the UK and Europe once more.”
Mr O'Leary also said it would be many years before super cheap flights return.
Ryanair’s trademark €1 and €10 ($1.21 and $12.15) fares will not be available for a “number of years” due to rising fuel prices, the budget airline’s boss said.
He said he expected Ryanair’s average fare to rise by about €10 over the next five years, from about €40 ($48.61) last year to roughly €50 by 2027.
He told the broadcaster: “There’s no doubt that at the lower end of the marketplace, our really cheap promotional fares —the €1 fares, the €0.99 fares, even the €9.99 fares — I think you will not see those fares for the next number of years.”
Decades of flight: Heathrow through the years — in pictures
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Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images -
An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919 -
Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946 -
The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955 -
The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955 -
US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956 -
An aerial view showing the runways in 1958 -
The arrivals and departures board in 1960 -
A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961 -
The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965 -
The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965 -
Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966 -
Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970 -
Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971 -
Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973 -
Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976 -
Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977 -
Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978 -
Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979 -
Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981 -
British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984 -
Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 -
Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal -
Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003 -
Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003 -
Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004 -
Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period -
Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police -
Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007 -
The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008 -
Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016 -
Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century -
A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images -
Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold -
An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 -
British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 -
Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022
