London’s Heathrow Airport Says It Will Limit Passengers

When asked how Heathrow would enforce the capacity limit, a spokeswoman for the airport, Hannah Smith, said that this would be overseen by an independent coordinator, Airport Coordination Limited.

The airport coordinator said in a statement that compliance with Heathrow’s request was voluntary, because there was no mechanism in Britain that allowed it to remove allocated runway slots from airlines. The company said it would calculate the required reduction in passengers for each airline, and airlines could decide which flights to cancel or whether to comply with the request at all.

Virgin Atlantic, one of Britain’s largest carriers, said in a statement that it stood ready to deliver its full schedule this summer.

“However, we support proactive measures being taken by Heathrow to reduce disruption, as long as action proposed does not disproportionately impact home carriers at the airport,” the airline said. “Action should be based on thorough analysis showing the most effective measures to improve the situation and keep customers moving.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/business/heathrow-airport-delays.html