The cap – which limited the number of departing passengers to just 100,000 per day – was activated at the end of July in an attempt to manage the operational congestion caused by the rebound in passenger demand following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. It is expected that LHR will ease these restrictions on Saturday, October 29th, reports Reuters.

 

Ending Passenger Cap Welcomes Back Travelers, But Operational Challenges Remain

Back in July, airport CEO John Holland-Kaye explained the impetus behind the passenger cap in a statement, saying that, “By making this intervention now, our objective is to protect flights for the vast majority of passengers at Heathrow this summer and to give confidence that everyone who does travel through the airport will have a safe and reliable journey and arrive at their destination with their bags. 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.”

 

In this statement, Holland-Kaye also acknowledged that while the airline industry as a whole was in recovery from the pandemic, the sector was being challenged as it struggled to rebuild capacity in the face of a sudden spike in passenger demand. Putting the situation at LHR into perspective, he added that, “At Heathrow, we have seen 40 years of passenger growth in just four months.”

 

Prior to the passenger cap being enforced, passengers at LHR faced long lines, baggage delays and flight cancellations. The airport confirmed to Reuters in July that limitations on passenger departure numbers had helped to improve its operations.

Source: frugal travel guy