Heathrow airport
It was anticipated that many travelers would be able to take the vacations they had postponed during the years of Covid around Christmas 2022.
But London Heathrow, the principal airport serving the UK, has issued a warning that it may once again impose a passenger capacity limit.
The announcement was released at the same time Heathrow announced a £442 million (€509 million) loss for the past nine months and cautioned that demand would likely not recover to pre-pandemic levels for several years.
"We are unlikely to recover to pre-pandemic demand for a number of years, except at peak periods," it stated on Wednesday, citing the effects of the Covid-19 virus, the war in Ukraine and other factors.
What would it mean for travelers and how would this cap function with such high travel demand?
How has Heathrow managed the summer's passenger volume?
Like other airports, Heathrow has experienced post-Covid growth pains, including lengthy lines for passport check and security, as well as overworked baggage handling.
The airport has been requesting since July that the airlines decrease their operations in order to guarantee that the operation can handle the volume of passengers. There is now a daily maximum of 100,000 departing passengers.
Hundreds of flights were canceled, including several by Aer Lingus, in addition to the thousands of anticipated cancellations by British Airways, the airport's largest client. Some airlines simply stopped selling tickets for flights.
In the airline industry, summer technically continues, but when the clocks change on Sunday morning, the season will officially cease and transition to winter.
Additionally, the limit on Heathrow departures will be lifted at that time. Until the start of the Christmas rush, no one is likely to notice as passenger counts are unlikely to reach 100,000 anyhow.
What plans does Heathrow have for the holidays?
According to the airport, "We are working with airlines to agree on a very focused mechanism that, if needed, would synchronize supply and demand on a few key peak days leading up to Christmas."
As a result, the heavier peaks would be protected and flight cancellations caused by resource constraints would be avoided.
Heathrow is in discussions with airlines about moving certain departing flights from the morning rush to the later, usually calmer hours.
What does that mean for customers who have confirmed reservations?
Most passengers won't be impacted, but for a small number, it may mean that the departure time is altered.
Although the strategy aims to reduce outgoing numbers, by altering timings, it would also have an impact on inbound travelers.
Any change at Heathrow has an impact. Because of how they interact with slots and connections at other airports, the flight timings are where they are.
For instance, Singapore Airlines has two morning departures to its hub, with the bulk of travelers making connections there before continuing on to other destinations.
These connections will be messed up if those flights are postponed till the afternoon. Additionally, airlines methodically arrange the utilization of their planes and are unable to simply adjust their schedules to accommodate Heathrow.
What rights do you have if your flight is changed?
You might be able to cancel and get a full refund if there is a large discrepancy in your arrival time. But when (a) you'll receive more than two weeks' notice and (b) the airlines are not at fault, you won't be entitled to any compensation.
Over Christmas, most folks just want to get where they're heading on time.
The airline must get you to your destination as close to the original plan as possible, which may require you to change your UK departure point from Heathrow to another UK departure point like Gatwick, Birmingham or even Manchester. These rights apply regardless of whether the flight is canceled or rescheduled.
How do the airlines respond?
They are worried because Christmas is the exact time of year when they fly planes full of customers paying premium rates and they make the most money.
Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, stated: "Christmas is a crucial travel season and Heathrow must make sure that any method or new cap established is appropriate and has the least possible impact on traveler plans.
"Going forward, as the UK's sole hub airport, it must ensure that its too gloomy passenger volume predictions, which were greatly surpassed this year, don't leave the airport short on resources when preparing for future demand," the report stated.
Are there similar issues at other airports?
Not right now in the UK, and not at Dublin Airport, which anticipates 350,000 travelers for the long weekend in October.
Gatwick set a limit on the number of flights it would handle in July and August, while Tui deliberately scaled back its Manchester operations in spring.
However, there are passenger limits at Amsterdam Schiphol, and over the summer, we witnessed the scene of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines suspending ticket sales from its home base for a weekend because it couldn't be certain that passengers would make it through the security line in time.
Will the authorities intervene?
Doubtful. Since the beginning of September, the UK has had three transportation secretaries. Instead of airline consumer protection, the new minister, Mark Harper, is prioritizing the recent wave of rail strikes.
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