BUSINESS NEWS


Heathrow imposed a cap of 100,000 departing passengers a day. Inset: Emirates initally rejected the demand


Airlines fall into line on Heathrow passenger cap


Ian Taylor reports on the fallout after the airport imposed a cap on numbers It said Heathrow had given just “36


Heathrow’s imposition of a cap on departing passenger numbers caused a public spat with Gulf carrier Emirates last week when the airline refused to comply. The airport abruptly announced


it was capping passenger numbers at 100,000 a day for two months of peak summer, from July 12 to September 11, requiring airlines to axe up to 4,000 passengers a day. Heathrow even requested carriers


stop selling summer flights as it sought to end daily disruption.


56 21 JULY 2022 The move triggered widespread


anger among airlines, but Emirates went public and refused to cut its schedule. In a statement, Emirates denounced Heathrow’s action as “unacceptable” and said: “We reject these demands.” The carrier accused Heathrow of “incompetence” and being “cavalier” in wishing “to force Emirates to deny seats to tens of thousands of travellers who have paid for and booked months ahead” and suggested the cap had been “plucked from thin air”.


hours to comply” and had dictated “the specific flights on which we should throw out paying passengers”. However, the following day


Emirates issued a joint statement with Heathrow acknowledging: “Emirates has capped further sales on flights out of Heathrow until mid-August… and is working to adjust capacity. In the meantime, Emirates flights from


Continued on page 54 travelweekly.co.uk


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PICTURE: Shutterstock/Gordon Bell


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