Heathrow Airport imposes temporary passenger cap to curb travel chaos
London's Heathrow Airport is imposing a two-month daily departing passenger cap and has requested that airlines stop selling new tickets for the summer season, as the travel hub works through on-the-ground chaos spurred by an influx in travel demand.
The airport will limit the number of departing passengers to 100,000 a day until Sept. 11, The Wall Street Journal reports. The decision follows similar restrictions imposed at London Gatwick Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, both of which also serve as main hubs for tourists traveling to Europe.
This is the first time Heathrow has had to impose such a cap, the airport said, per the Journal. With staffing efforts running behind, certain "key" airport functions — like baggage handlers — "remain significantly under-resourced," Bloomberg writes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Some airlines have taken significant action, but others have not, and we believe that further action is needed now to ensure passengers have a safe and reliable journey," Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye wrote in an open letter on Tuesday, per CNBC. "We have therefore made the difficult decision to introduce a capacity cap with effect from 12 July to 11 September."
"We recognize that this will mean some summer journeys will either be moved to another day, another airport or be canceled and we apologize to those whose travel plans are affected," he continued.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?
Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published