London Heathrow airport has apologised to passengers who have been affected by long queues and baggage delays this summer. The airport also warned that it may require airlines to make more cancellations “if necessary”.
The UK’s largest airport insisted that while it had provided a “good level” of service for most travellers, it admitted there have been “periods in recent weeks where service levels have not been acceptable”. Heathrow also said there had been delays for passengers with reduced mobility at times.
The airport said it catered for six million passengers during June, taking traffic for the first six months of the year up to 26 million people. But it added that rebuilding capacity after the Covid-19 crisis had been “very challenging” with staffing issues across the entire aviation industry.
Airlines have been encouraged to provide a more “realistic” schedule this summer after the UK government’s move last month to create a temporary amnesty to allow them to keep their valuable airport slots.
British Airways, the largest airline at Heathrow, last week announced it was cutting another 10,300 flights up to the end of the summer 2022 schedule.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “Last month, we saw exponential growth in passenger numbers as nearly six million people got away – the equivalent of 40 years of growth in just four months.
“We will review the schedule changes that airlines have submitted in response to the government’s requirement to minimise disruption for passengers this summer and will ask them to take further action if necessary.
“We want everyone who is travelling through Heathrow to be confident that they will have a safe and reliable journey.”
Heathrow said that the punctuality of arrivals was “very low” due to delays at other airports and airspace congestion across Europe.
The airport said it restarted recruitment in November 2021 after having to cut staff due to the impact of the pandemic. Heathrow has also reopened Terminal 4 as part of its ramp up of services.