Heathrow to Eliminate Its Passenger Cap in October

The news to prolong the passenger cap to the end of March 2023—with the potential of extending it forward to the end of January—came a few days earlier.

In July, the Heathrow limit became effective.

The airport in August extended the cap’s original expiration date of September 11 to late October.

According to a New York Times story, Heathrow lifted the quota because there were fewer cancellations and reduced wait times for bags.

Though most business associations and airlines disapproved of the cap announcement—Emirates called it “unreasonable and unacceptable”—each cooperated with the airport to comply.

Royal Schiphol Group COO Hanne Buis said Schiphol’s cap extension “obviously affects travellers and airlines, which we of course consider very unfortunate. Together with the security companies and unions, we are working hard on making structural improvements — a daunting task in a very tight labour market.”

Schiphol said it will work with airlines “to arrive at the required capacity reduction.”