London’s Heathrow airport has warned of slowing demand for flights over the winter, as a predicted rebound in Covid-19 cases and the cost of living crisis loom over the travel sector.
However, Europe’s biggest airport said it expected peak days during the Christmas period “to be very busy”.
Heathrow is recovering from severe disruption over the summer caused by a shortage of ground staff, which prompted the introduction of a daily limit on passenger numbers.
The cap of 100,000 passengers a day is scheduled to be lifted on October 29, which marks the end of aviation’s summer season. Heathrow said the cap improved passenger service by keeping “supply and demand in balance”.
“While we face many economic headwinds, as well as the legacy of Covid, our aim is to get back to full capacity,” Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said. “Resource levels across the airport, airlines and their ground handlers have been increasing and we have now removed the cap.”
About 5.8mn people passed through Heathrow in September, 15 per cent below levels seen in 2019 before the pandemic but more than double the 2.6mn recorded in the same month last year.
