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LONDON (AP) – London’s Heathrow Airport said Thursday that its restrictions on passenger numbers are easing a travel crunch that has led to cancelled flights and lost luggage, as soaring demand for summer travel collides with staffing shortages during the pandemic.
Britain’s busiest airport has sparked criticism by limiting daily outbound passengers to 100,000 passengers until Sept. 11 and asking airlines to stop ticketing and cut flights.
In a statement, Heathrow said the cap reduced last-minute flight cancellations and improved baggage delivery and flight on-time performance.
The airport said it has employed 1,300 people and the number of security personnel is at pre-pandemic levels, allowing 88 percent of travelers to pass through checkpoints within 20 minutes.
“Since the introduction of the demand cap, passengers have seen better and more reliable journeys,” said airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye.
“This is only possible with the combined efforts of airports, airlines and the wider Heathrow team.”
After two years of COVID-19 travel restrictions, airports and airlines were overwhelmed by a surge in passenger numbers and, at the height of the pandemic, laid off thousands of employees.
Heathrow was the scene of frequent chaos this summer, with long queues at security and technical glitches in the baggage system, resulting in a flood of lost and unclaimed luggage. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport was also hit hard, and a passenger cap was implemented.
In London, passenger restrictions at Heathrow led British Airways to suspend sales of short-haul flights to UK and European destinations earlier this month.
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