Airlines have rejected claims by London's Heathrow that they are not doing enough to resolve the travel chaos blighting terminals, after the airport put a cap on passenger numbers.
On Tuesday, the airport urged airlines to stop selling summer tickets, and said approximately 4,000 seats each day would need to be scrapped to keep within its self-imposed limit of 100,000. That is on top of thousands of flights that have already been cancelled by British Airways.
The airlines were already adapting their summer schedules after the government suspended its “use it or lose it” policy on flight routes, but Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said there had not been enough action and was forced to introduce the capacity limit.
Thousands of passengers have had their summer plans disrupted, while many who have already travelled through the airport since travel restrictions were lifted have suffered delays, long queues and a high chance their luggage would not be returned to them while the airport and airlines struggle with staff shortages.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said airlines are “working round the clock to deliver resilient summer schedules and Heathrow needs to play its full part in delivering for travellers”.
“It is disappointing that Heathrow, which was forecasting lower passenger numbers and resources required during the recovery phase, has considered it necessary to take this action now to manage these shortcomings,” he said.
“The vast majority of flights from Heathrow are departing as planned this summer, and carriers will be in contact as early as possible with any customers affected by the cap.”
Decades of flight: Heathrow through the years — in pictures
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Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images -
An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919 -
Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946 -
The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955 -
The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955 -
US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956 -
An aerial view showing the runways in 1958 -
The arrivals and departures board in 1960 -
A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961 -
The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965 -
The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965 -
Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966 -
Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970 -
Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971 -
Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973 -
Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976 -
Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977 -
Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978 -
Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979 -
Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981 -
British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984 -
Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 -
Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal -
Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003 -
Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003 -
Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004 -
Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period -
Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police -
Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007 -
The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008 -
Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016 -
Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century -
A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images -
Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold -
An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 -
British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 -
Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022
A Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman said the company is “ready to deliver its full schedule this summer”.
“However, we support proactive measures being taken by Heathrow to reduce disruption, as long as action proposed does not disproportionately impact home carriers at the airport,” she said.
“Action should be based on thorough analysis showing the most effective measures to improve the situation and keep customers moving.
“We look forward to seeing Heathrow’s comprehensive plan for returning to normal operations as soon as possible.”
Guy Hobbs, acting editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said thousands of people will now be worrying about whether their flight or holiday plans are about to fall apart.
“Heathrow must work with airlines to quickly provide clarity on which flights are being cut, and airlines need to be upfront with those passengers affected about their right to be rebooked at the earliest opportunity, including on services from other airlines,” Mr Hobbs said.
The cap will lead to more cancellations, but passengers will not be entitled to compensation from airlines as the cause will be classified as outside their control.
Some carriers may choose to operate flights with empty seats.
Soaring air fares will increase further as the number of available seats is further cut.
In recent months, many passengers have faced long queues and not had their luggage put on their flights.
Airlines were able to take advantage of a government scheme, which meant they had until July 8 to cancel summer flights without losing their future rights to valuable take-off and landing slots.
Some airlines took “significant action” but “others have not”, said Mr Holland-Kaye.
In an open letter to passengers, he wrote that further action is needed to ensure passengers have safe and reliable journeys.
“Our assessment is that the maximum number of daily departing passengers that airlines, airline ground handlers and the airport can collectively serve over the summer is no more than 100,000," he said.
“The latest forecasts indicate that even despite the amnesty, daily departing seats over the summer will average 104,000 – giving a daily excess of 4,000 seats.
“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.”
Mr Holland-Kaye admitted there are “some critical functions in the airport which are still significantly under-resourced”, such as ground handling.
