Heathrow is beginning to recover from the travel chaos seen in recent months, according to the airport’s chief executive.
Airline travellers across the UK have faced months of disruption, with delayed and cancelled flights, along with long waits at check-in, security, and baggage collection.
The main reason for the problems has been a shortage of staff.
Many jobs were lost in the aviation industry during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and now there is a race to recruit enough workers – and to train them and get them security clearance – to match the demand for summer travel.
Heathrow has been among the worst-affected.
But in an update on Thursday, chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “Passengers are seeing better, more reliable journeys since the introduction of the demand cap.
“I want to thank all my colleagues across the airport for their amazing work in getting people away on their holidays.
“This has only been possible because of the collective and determined efforts of airport, airlines and wider Team Heathrow teams.”
In July – and on top of a UK government amnesty that allowed airlines to cancel flights without fear of losing precious take-off and landing slots – Heathrow imposed a cap on departing passenger numbers to boost resilience.
