Families' hopes for a half-term holiday were thrown into chaos yesterday as Britain’s biggest airport extended its passenger cap to the end of October.
Heathrow announced it will not lift its ban on the number of daily outbound travellers next month as planned – meaning up to one million seats could be axed from airline schedules.
The suspension of sales on domestic or European tickets was implemented by British Airways at the beginning of August to allow for existing customers to rebook their cancelled flights.
The draconian measure was set to end on September 11 after it was brought in last month over fears airlines cannot safely handle more passengers due to staff shortages. It will now last until October 29.
After a summer of disruption, the move threatens further flight cancellations just as families look to get away for the October school holidays. It could also prevent already high fares from falling as prices could be inflated by the limited number of available seats.
Last night passengers were left in limbo as airlines worked with airport authorities to decide which flights may need axing. Customers will be notified about any flight changes in the coming days.
Families' hopes for a half-term holiday were thrown into chaos yesterday as Britain’s biggest airport extended its passenger cap to the end of October. Pictured, passengers queuing to check-in at Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport on 25 August
The suspension of sales on domestic or European tickets was implemented by British Airways at the beginning of August to allow for existing customers to rebook their cancelled flights. Pictured, a busy Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport on 23 August
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘It looks like another one million seats or so are going to be removed from the schedules because of this cap extension. Some of those booked for half term may find their flights are changed so need to keep an eye on any communications from their airline or tour operator.
'The cap may be working for Heathrow and smoothing passenger journeys, but it’s causing continuing frustration for the million or so who are going to be caught up by this decision.’
Passengers face having holidays cancelled, departure dates moved or flights shifted to other airports.
After a summer of disruption, the move threatens further flight cancellations just as families look to get away for the October school holidays. It could also prevent already high fares from falling as prices could be inflated by the limited number of available seats. Pictured, chaos in Gatwick Airport on 22 August
Those affected are entitled to a refund, or to be flown on the same day as their booking and as close to their original departure time as possible.
Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye has warned the cap could last until next summer as airlines struggle to find new staff, particularly ground-handlers. He said the cap was necessary to prevent last-minute cancellations because airlines were trying to operate an unrealistic number of flights.
Last night he told the Daily Mail: ‘There’s been no increase in ground-handling resources by the airlines at Heathrow within the last six months. It’s been absolutely flat.
Gatwick has also capped the number of departing flights over the summer, with other airports such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Frankfurt airports following suit. Gatwick airport chaos is pictured on 24 August
‘So we’ve seen no change in airline behaviour towards ground-handling, and unless something changes radically, we’re going to be in the same situation in six months’ time or maybe even 12 months. We really need to fix this. It’s not just Heathrow, it applies to all airports across Europe.’
Gatwick has also capped the number of departing flights over the summer, with other airports such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Frankfurt airports following suit.
Mr Holland-Kaye said ground-handling staff levels are about 70 per cent of what they were pre-pandemic, despite airlines operating around 85 per cent of flights.
British Airways have cancelled the most flights out of all UK airlines. Pictured is a British Airways plane at Heathrow
Heathrow said the cap imposed in July had resulted in 'fewer last-minute cancellations' and 'shorter waits for bags'.
It added the capacity limits would be kept under review and 'could be lifted earlier should there be a sustained picture of better resilience and a material increase in resourcing levels'.
Since May passengers at major airports, including Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick, have experienced major disruption, with long queues at security and baggage reclaim and last-minute cancellations.
Hundreds of bags of luggage arranged outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport. A shortage of baggage workers has seen huge delays in some people receiving their luggage
Consumer rights group Which? has warned that the move will now leave the plans of thousands of passengers in limbo.
Guy Hobbs, travel editor at the organisation, described the situation as a 'mess' and urged the airport to provide clarity to holiday-makers about the flight schedule.
Why is Heathrow imposing a daily passenger cap?
Airlines were able to take advantage of a Government scheme which meant they could cancel summer flights without losing their future rights to the valuable take-off and landing slots.
But even with this measure, Heathrow believes airlines still planned to operate flights carrying 4,000 more daily passengers than could be processed in an acceptable manner.
Heathrow said: 'On average only about 1,500 of these 4,000 daily seats have currently been sold to passengers, and so we are asking our airline partners to stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers.
'We recognise that this will mean some summer journeys will either be moved to another day, another airport or be cancelled and we apologise to those whose travel plans are affected.
'But this is the right thing to do to provide a better, more reliable journey and to keep everyone working at the airport safe.'
Heathrow insisted the capacity cap is 'in line with limits implemented at other airports'.
It added that airlines have 'discretion as to how they implement this in their individual schedules'.
He said: 'Though the extension of the passenger cap may help Heathrow prevent a repeat of the unacceptable last-minute cancellations we saw earlier in the summer, thousands of people will now be anxious about whether their travel plans could be scuppered.
'Heathrow and impacted airlines must act without delay to provide travellers with clarity on which flights are being cut, and airlines must ensure affected passengers are aware of their rights to rebooking or refunds.'
British Airways has also said that they may continue to 'take targeted action to limit the number of seats or fares available' during this 'challenging period'.
This comes as the airline was revealed to cancel the most flights out of all UK carriers, cutting nearly 30,000 flights from their summer schedule.
At the height of the chaos, British Airways cancelled 3.5% of their schedule compared to budget airline Ryanair which axed a mere 0.3%, according to data obtained by Sky News.
The airline has suffered from staff shortages and absences after cutting 10,000 jobs in 2020.
According to British Airways, pausing the sale for some flights allowed for existing customers to rebook their cancelled flights.
Heathrow chief commercial officer Ross Baker said: 'Our primary concern is ensuring we give our passengers a reliable service when they travel.
'That’s why we introduced temporary capacity limits in July which have already improved journeys during the summer getaway.
'We want to remove the cap as soon as possible, but we can only do so when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to deliver the service our passengers deserve.'
British Airways said: 'We will continue to work with Heathrow to provide certainty for our existing customers while giving opportunities for new customers to travel with us this summer.'
A group of travellers sit down in Terminal 5 while waiting for their flight. Thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled last-minute since spring
English (United States) ·