London’s Heathrow to lift daily passenger cap in late October

London’s Heathrow airport has told airlines it will lift a cap on passenger numbers at its terminals later this month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the decision.

The airport capped the number of passenger departures at 100,000 a day in July and in August extended the cap until Oct. 29 in a move to limit queues, baggage delays and flight cancellations after struggling to cope with a rebound in travel.

A Heathrow spokesperson did not directly respond to a Reuters request asking if the cap will be removed on Oct. 29.

The spokesperson, in an emailed statement, said, “The cap resulted in fewer last-minute cancellations, better punctuality and shorter waits for bags. Our focus has always been on removing the cap as quickly as possible – but we will only do so if we are confident that adding in more passengers will not erode the service levels that the cap has secured.”

Airlines and airports across Europe struggled to cope with the rebound in post-lockdown travel, with many failing to recruit enough staff to handle check-ins and baggage.