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Heathrow is finally lifting its drastic cap on passenger numbers

The airport limited departures to 100,000 a day throughout the summer

Written by
Faima Bakar
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From queues to flight delays to cancellations, it’s no secret that flying has been a bit of a pain recently. But now it seems some semblance of normality could be returning. First Ryanair announced it had relaunched a key route that was scrapped during the pandemic, and now Heathrow Airport has lifted the cap on daily passenger numbers that was introduced in the summer.

In July and August, at the peak of all the travel chaos, the airport limited departures to 100,000 a day, extending the cap all the way until October 29.

Heathrow hoped the move would limit queues, baggage delays and flight cancellations after it had struggled to cope with the post-pandemic rebound in international travel. But later this month, the airport will remove the cap and continue business as usual. 

Since the cap was introduced, Heathrow has apparently been able to get itself in a better place, with fewer last-minute cancellations, shorter wait times and better punctuality. 

Heathrow hasn’t been the only airport to struggle over the past year. Staff shortages across many airports resulted in huge delays in passenger journeys. As travel started to return to normal post-pandemic, airports and airlines faced further pressure. But could things finally be back to normal now?

ICYMI: you could buy this picture-postcard cottage in the village where ‘Killing Eve’ was filmed.

Plus: Ryanair has relaunched its direct flights from London to Edinburgh.

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