For those planning to travel through Heathrow Airport, capacity remains an issue, as the capacity cap that is currently in place will be extended to the 29th of October.
Heathrow from the sky – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
The capacity limit at Heathrow is currently set at 100k daily departing passengers.
This comes after Heathrow has been in consultation with airlines. The move is supposed to provide passengers with confidence ahead of their half-term getaways.
As for the date – 29th of October – this marks the end of the Spring/Summer timetable, as we transition into the Winter timetable.
In July, Heathrow introduced temporary capacity limits to improve passenger journeys over the summer getaway. By better balancing passenger demand with available resources, they were able to operate a safe airport ecosystem that prioritises passenger needs.
Since then, the cap has resulted in fewer last-minute cancellations, better punctuality and shorter waits for bags.
Other airports have implemented caps this summer – with London Gatwick, Frankfurt and Amsterdam Schiphol notable cases. In the case of Schiphol, it has extended its cap further and introduced a compensation scheme for passengers delayed because of security queues.
Under Review
However, we all know the travel situation is not static, as is the staffing situation. The airport says it is monitoring capacity limits and they will be kept under regular review. These could be lifted earlier should there be a sustained picture of better resilience and a material increase in resourcing levels, notably at some airline ground handlers which remains a core constraint on capacity at the airport.
To support efforts to build back resilience in the airport system, Heathrow launched a review of airline ground handling last week. As part of an overall review of the ecosystem, we will be working with airlines and ground handlers to understand how it is possible to unlock more capacity in this critical part of the airport.
In Quotes
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.”
Normality is still far away
Based on the three visits to Heathrow Airport in the past few months, there are improvements slowly, although delayed arrivals handling is still a thing and on-time departures can struggle.
Security management has been reasonable, with some queues that could span 20 minutes to clear the line – whilst FastTrack was clearing in under 10 minutes every time.
Whilst my BA flight managed to leave on time, both my Finnair flights had an hour-plus delay on their departures.
Arrivals have been varying, with times from 31 minutes (without baggage) to 1 hour and 21 minutes from landing to entering the public area.
There is a way to go as Heathrow and everyone working there are trying to recover their staffing levels and try to adjust to normal life again.
For the passenger, if you have journeys planned, it might be an idea to consider securing them soon. The last thing you want is not to be able to book a flight because of capacity constraints.
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