Heathrow Airport announced on Tuesday that it is imposing a capacity cap of 100,000 departing passengers per day, which will take effect immediately and last until September 11. The airport also asked airlines to stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers.
"Over the past few weeks, as departing passenger numbers have regularly exceeded 100,000 a day, we have started to see periods when service drops to a level that is not acceptable: long queue times, delays for passengers requiring assistance, bags not traveling with passengers or arriving late, low punctuality and last-minute cancellations. This is due to a combination of reduced arrivals punctuality (as a result of delays at other airports and in European airspace) and increased passenger numbers starting to exceed the combined capacity of airlines, airline ground handlers and the airport," Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said.
He assured the airport is recruiting additional staff in order to ensure a return to normal service "as soon as possible."
