London Heathrow extends passenger limits until October

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(CNN) — Europessummer of air travel chaosis set to extend into the fall as London’s Heathrow Airport will extend its passenger capacity limit until the end of October.

Overcrowding and staff shortages were some of the factors contributing to longer-than-expected wait times at airport security, lost luggage, delayed and canceled flights and other hurdles as many travelers eagerly headed for their first post-pandemic vacations.

Amid the hustle and bustle of summer vacationers, Heathrow had capped passenger traffic at the airport to… 100,000 departures per day until 11 Sept.

Now, however, the airport is extending that restriction until at least October 29.

“We want to remove the cap as soon as possible, but we can only do that if we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to deliver the service our passengers deserve,” said Ross Baker, COO. from Heathrow, in a press. pronunciation.

The date of October 29 refers to the UK school term, which is a popular holiday period.

According to OAG, an air travel intelligence company, 761,756 people passed Heathrow on the week of May 16, 2022. That was the first time Heathrow had taken the title of the world’s busiest airport since the start of the pandemic.

The same report also noted that air traffic to Western Europe had tripled since the same period in 2019.

In his announcement, the Heathrow representative noted that several other airports, such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam Schiphol and London Gatwick, have also imposed passenger limits. Schiphol also lasts until the end of October.

However, Amsterdam’s airport limit is approximately controlling emissions as part of a longer project to reduce air pollution, not because of the stress of summer travel.

However, what does this mean for travelers?

As CNN’s Maureen O’Hare previously reported, it is not up to individual guests to navigate through the passenger hood on their own.

Instead, the responsibility will lie with the airlines.

People who have already booked their tickets should assume that their reservations have been confirmed unless they hear directly from the airline about changes or cancellations.

They will also be able to make new bookings, although flights may already be full and some airlines are likely to shorten their flight schedules. It is likely that the reduced number of available seats and the potential panic of travelers rushing to secure reservations could lead to significant fare increases.

Another thing to note: Heathrow said the cap could be lifted before October 29 if there is a “continued picture of improved resilience and material increase in resources.”

Top photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

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