Heathrow Imposes Cap On Daily Passenger Numbers

Heathrow has imposed a daily cap of 100,000 departing passengers at the airport with immediate effect.

London Air Travel » Airports

Heathrow Airport At Night
Heathrow Airport At Night (Image Credit: Heathrow)

London Heathrow has imposed a cap on daily passenger numbers across the airport with immediate effect.

Heathrow considers that the airport, its airlines and ground handlers do not have the capacity to handle more than 100,000 departing passengers a day.

Passenger numbers will be capped at this number with immediate effect until Sunday 11 September 2022.

Heathrow has also asked airlines to stop selling tickets for this period.

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How Many Flights Have Airlines Cancelled This Summer?

More than 32,000 flights are cancelled across London City, Gatwick & Heathrow airports from July to October.

London Air Travel » Airports

London Heathrow Terminal 5A, May 2020
London Heathrow Terminal 5 (Image Credit: Heathrow)

Summer flight cancellations by airlines continue to dominate the news agenda.

Various numbers have been put on the number of cancellations.

A few weeks ago the UK government announced a “slot amnesty” to allow airlines to cancel up to 30% of their flights without forfeiting slots.

This now takes effect until October.

We also have numbers from Airport Coordination Ltd on the scale of cancellations under the amnesty by airline and airport.

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London City Airport Launches Public Consultation

London City Airport has launched a consultation on plans to extend the airport’s operating hours, including all day on Saturdays.

London Air Travel » Airports

Aerial view of runway and taxiways of London City Airport.
London City Airport (Image Credit: London City Airport)

London City Airport has launched a consultation on plans to extend its operating hours, including all day on Saturdays.

The airport, which first opened in 1987, has long been a popular choice for passengers seeking to avoid the crowds of Gatwick and Heathrow.

Due to the airport’s location in London’s Royal Docks, it has a number of operating restrictions to limit noise for local residents and those who live under its flight paths.

These include:

  • Only 6 aircraft movements are allowed in the first half hour of operations, 2 between 06:30 and 06:45 and 4 between 06:45 and 06:59
  • A maximum of 400 aircraft movements a year for delayed flights are allowed between 22:00 and 22:30 Sunday – Friday and 12:30 and 13:00 on Saturday
  • An 8 hour night time curfew on all flights between 22:30 and 06:30
  • A 24 hour weekend closure between 12:30 on Saturday and 12:30 on Sunday
  • Limits on the number of flights at weekends and on public holidays
  • A maximum limit of 6.5 million passengers and 111,000 aircraft movements a year
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Heathrow Forced To Cut Passenger Charges

The Civil Aviation Authority has proposed that Heathrow airport must cut it passenger charges by 2026.

London Air Travel » Airports

London Heathrow Terminal 5A, May 2020
London Heathrow Terminal 5 (Image Credit: Heathrow)

The cost of flying from Heathrow is set to fall as the Civil Aviation Authority is to force the airport to cut passenger charges.

The CAA has set out its proposals on Heathrow’s passenger charges for its next five year control period from January 2022 to December 2026, known as H7.

The last control period expired on 31 December 2021. Late last year, the CAA allowed an interim increase of Heathrow’s maximum passenger charge from £19.36 to £30.19. This was a substantially larger increase than any other major European airport.

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Virgin Atlantic Gains Heathrow Slots For Tampa, Florida

Virgin Atlantic has secured slots at London Heathrow for a new route to Tampa this winter.

London Air Travel » Airports

Tampa Cityscape
Tampa Cityscape (Image Credit: Visit Tampa Bay)

Airport Coordination Ltd, the body responsible for allocating slots at London airports, has published its first reports for the coming winter season.

Before going any further, these come with a number of health warnings:

  • They are not final, but do indicate which airlines want slots at Heathrow and for which routes.
  • Airlines may be allocated slots, but do not take them up. This can be for commercial reasons, or the slot timings are not suitable.
  • Airlines will make a number of route changes that do not feature in these reports.

All that said, here are some headlines:

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London Heathrow Terminal 4 Reopens 14 June 2022

London Heathrow Terminal 4 will reopen to passenger flights on 14 June 2022.

London Air Travel » Airports

Terminal 4, London Heathrow Airport (Image Credit: Terminal 4)

Terminal 4 at London Heathrow airport will reopen to passenger flights on Tuesday 14 June 2022.

The Terminal closed to departing flights in 2020 as Heathrow consolidated all flights in Terminals 2 & 5 in response to COVID-19.

There were doubts as to whether Terminal 4 would reopen. Before closing, the terminal hosted a relatively small number of flights.

Terminal 4 is not the easiest location to operate at as it is south of Heathrow’s two runways. That said, its reopening will relieve congestion at other terminals.

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Aeroflot’s Heathrow Airport Slots Forfeited

Airlines will be able to apply for Aeroflot’s former Heathrow slots from the winter 2022 season onwards.

London Air Travel » Airports

Airfield, London Heathrow Airport (Image Credit: Heathrow)

On 19 May 2022, the UK government announced sanctions against three Russian airlines in respect of their airport slots.

Aeroflot, Rossiya Airlines and Ural Airlines are all subject to asset freezes in the UK. They are prohibited from selling or leasing their UK airport slots. This follows previous measures prohibiting Russian aircraft from entering UK airspace.

Airport Coordination Ltd, the body responsible for allocating slots at Heathrow has today, 26 May 2022, published guidance on how this will work in practice.

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Heathrow Terminal 4 To Reopen By July 2022

Heathrow Airport plans to reopen Terminal 4 to passenger flights by July 2022.

London Air Travel » Airports

Terminal 4, London Heathrow Airport (Image Credit: Terminal 4)

Heathrow Airport plans to reopen Terminal 4 to passenger flights by July 2022.

Terminals 3 & 4 were originally closed in 2020 as the airport consolidated flights in Terminals 2 & 5 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were doubts as to whether Terminal 4 would ever reopen. Before COVID-19, it hosted a relatively small number of daily flights.

Terminal 4 is also not an easy location for airlines to operate from as it’s situated south of Heathrow’s two runways.

Whilst the UK government’s “Red List” was in place, Terminal 4 did act as an arrivals terminal for passengers arriving from red list countries.

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Gatwick South Terminal To Reopen

The South Terminal at London Gatwick Airport will reopen from Sunday 27 March 2022.

London Air Travel » Airports

British Airways Lounge - London Gatwick South Terminal
British Airways Lounge – London Gatwick South Terminal (Credit: British Airways)

The South Terminal at London Gatwick Airport is to reopen.

The South Terminal will reopen for passenger flights from the start of the summer 2022 season on Sunday 27 March 2022. The South Terminal closed in June 2020 with all flights consolidated in the North Terminal.

Airlines expected to operate from the South Terminal this summer include Aer Lingus, Air Baltic, BA, Eastern Airways, Norwegian and Vueling.

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London Heathrow Airport Adds £5 Drop Off Charge

From Monday 1 November 2021, a £5 charge will apply to vehicles dropping off passengers at the forecourts of London Heathrow Airport terminals.

London Air Travel » Airports

Terminal 3 Forecourt, London Heathrow Airport (Image Credit: Heathrow)

On Monday 1 November 2021 London Heathrow Airport will introduce a £5 charge for all vehicles dropping off departing passengers at its terminal forecourts.

This will apply to all vehicles, including private hire cars. There are limited exemptions and discounts for Blue Badge holders, emergency vehicles, motorbikes, coaches and staff buses.

Black cab taxis registered with London Taxi and Private Hire will benefit from a 100% discount until 1 April 2022 to allow Transport for London to consult on changes to meter charges. Private Hire Vehicles do not benefit from this discount.

The charge will apply 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are no given times or circumstances where it will be waived for all passengers.

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