Heathrow Airport ordered airlines to cancel 61 flights at short notice on Monday as it could not handle the expected number of passengers. It is the latest blow for passengers amid a summer of delays and cancellations at the nation's biggest airport.
A spokeswoman for the airport said: “We are expecting higher passenger numbers in terminals three and five today than the airport currently has capacity to serve, and so to maintain a safe operation we have asked some airlines in terminals three and five to remove a combined total of 61 flights from the schedule.
“We apologise for the impact to travel plans and we are working closely with airlines to get affected passengers rebooked onto other flights. While Heathrow is ramping up resource and will have as many security officers this summer as we had pre-pandemic, airspace constraints across Europe and a lack of airline ground-handling staff can pose a risk to the smooth running of operations.
“As a result, we will take action where needed to ensure passengers receive the service level they deserve.”
Airlines were ordered by the Government and the Civil Aviation Authority last month to make sure their timetables are “deliverable” after the sector was unable to cope with demand during the Jubilee half-term school holiday period.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “Last month, we saw exponential growth in passenger numbers as nearly six million people got away – the equivalent of 40 years of growth in just four months.”
He said: “We have already seen times recently when demand exceeds the capacity of the airport, airlines and ground handlers. We will review the schedule changes that airlines have submitted in response to the Government’s requirement to minimise disruption for passengers this summer and will ask them to take further action if necessary.
“We want everyone who is travelling through Heathrow to be confident that they will have a safe and reliable journey.”
