Heathrow poised to lift capacity cap while Truss faces new rebellion

Elsewhere, the headlines are dominated by prime minister Liz Truss’ continuing troubles with a new rebellion by Conservative MPs looming on the horizon over benefits and spending cuts.

Covid-19 is also back in the spotlight as the UK’s public inquiry on the pandemic is due to begin and the US is to stop issuing health travel warnings about the virus.

Here are the headlines the travel industry woke up to on Tuesday (4 October).

Heathrow airport prepares to lift cap on passenger numbers

Heathrow will lift the cap on passenger numbers from late October after it limited travellers during recent months in a bid to curb disruption. The airport has been capping the number of departing passengers at 100,000 per day due to a lack of staffing. (The Times)

Transport secretary backs third runway at Heathrow

New transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan confirmed that she supports the building of a third runway at Heathrow when she spoke at a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference. Plans for a new runway had been long opposed by former prime minister Boris Johnson. (The Telegraph)

Truss faces new Tory rebellion on benefit cuts

Tensions are mounting in the Conservative Party over Liz Truss’ leadership following her U-turn on scrapping the 45p rate of tax. Some Tory MPs are now vowing to rebel against the prime minister over a squeeze on benefits and cuts to public spending. (The i)

Covid inquiry to start preliminary hearings

The first preliminary hearing of the UK’s Covid-19 public inquiry will begin on Tuesday (4 October) after initially being postponed due to the death of the Queen last month. The initial session will focus on how prepared the country was for the pandemic pre-2020. (BBC News)

US health agency ends country-by-country Covid travel warnings

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer maintain a list of coronavirus travel warnings because “fewer countries are testing or reporting Covid-19 cases,” which is limiting the health agency’s ability to assess travel risks. (Various)