Heathrow flight curbs ‘to continue until end of October’
James ChappleHeathrow will continue to cap flight capacity until the end of October, it is reported.
Airlines have been warned Heathrow’s flight curbs will extended beyond October half-term, The Telegraph reports, citing a letter to carriers.
Earlier this month, Heathrow imposed a two-month capacity cap, which had initially been due to run until 11 September.
However, this cap – The Telegraph reports – will now continue until 29 October. Maximum daily departing passenger capacity is currently limited to 100,000.
The paper quotes from a letter to carriers from Mark Powell, Heathrow’s director of operational planning.
It states aircraft movements – outbound and inbound – will be limited to 1,100 a day until 31 August, rising to 1,150 in September and then to 1,200 in October. Pre-Covid, Heathrow had 1,350 movements a day.
Heathrow said the decision would guard against "potentially dangerous levels of congestion or crowding" owing to "risk of uncontrolled demand".
Powell’s letter said "continued higher absence levels and reliance upon overtime across Team Heathrow" coupled with "volatility" in resourcing levels was impacting resilience, safety, passenger experience and performance.
After initially pledging to defy Heathrow’s cap, Emirates earlier this week announced it would acquiesce.
"Emirates has capped further sales on its flights out of Heathrow until mid-August to assist Heathrow in its resource ramp-up," said the airline.
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