London Heathrow will lift its daily capacity cap by the end of October, unnamed sources have told the Washington Post. The airport has made no official announcement on the issue and was not immediately available for comment.
The cap limiting daily departing passengers to 100,000 is currently in place for the period July 12 to October 29. It will not be extended into the winter season, according to airlines briefed by the airport.
Similar measures to control passenger demand in the face of ground staffing shortages have been implemented at other airports, notably Amsterdam Schiphol in the Netherlands, which has attracted the ire of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for having extended its capacity cap until the end of March 2023.
“This cap has resulted in fewer last-minute cancellations, better punctuality, and shorter waits for bags,” a spokeswoman for Heathrow told the Washington Post. “Our focus has always been on removing the cap as quickly as possible - but we will only do so if we are confident that adding in more passengers will not erode the service levels that the cap has secured.”
While the seasonal capacity reduction will reportedly finish at the end of October, Heathrow will still have a separate restriction that prevents airlines from making changes or additions at peak periods, people familiar with the plans said. The sources said that a different emergency measure, which can be used to limit capacity for shorter periods, will still be available to the airport in the case of severe disruptions during peak travel periods.
