London Heathrow airport is to maintain its current capacity cap at the same level until the end of the summer schedule on 29 October.
The UK hub airport initially imposed the cap of 100,000 departing passengers per day for two months from 12 July to 11 September.
Heathrow announced on Monday (15 August) that the cap would now be extended until late October after consultation with airlines. The airport added this would “support more reliable and resilient passenger journeys”.
But the airport said that the cap could be lifted earlier than 29 October if “improved resource levels are evident and the airport continues to see sustained operational improvements”. Heathrow added that capacity limits would be “kept under regular review”.
Heathrow’s chief commercial officer Ross Baker said: “Our primary concern is ensuring we give our passengers a reliable service when they travel. That’s why we introduced temporary capacity limits in July which have already improved journeys during the summer getaway.
“We want to remove the cap as soon as possible, but we can only do so when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to deliver the service our passengers deserve.”
British Airways has just ended its suspension of last-minute bookings on short-haul flights from Heathrow after two weeks of being off-sale.
Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association, criticised Heathrow’s decision to extend the cap because it did “not have the best interest of travellers at its heart”.
“It compounds the misery faced by many leisure travellers and heaps pain on British businesses trying to get back to international work,” he said.
“It is time that Heathrow is truthful with its industry and all travellers: what are their staffing levels and how quickly are they addressing the problem?
“As staff levels increase, surely the passenger cap can rise in order to help struggling airlines and to get British people overseas safely and efficiently? Why are they taking unilateral action rather than reflecting the reality of their progress? We all deserve better.”