he chief executive of Heathrow has been issued an ultimatum by the UK government to provide a plan to fix the airport’s staffing problems, which have disrupted the travel plans of thousands of passengers and led to a row with Emirates.
John Holland-Kaye has until midday UK time on Friday to deliver his assessment of why the airport determined that a cap of 100,000 daily departing passengers “provides a safe and resilient airport with a positive passenger experience”.
This week, the airport introduced the limit, saying it could not safely cope with more passengers and was trying to fix the chaos which has marred operations in recent months.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled, passengers have faced hours of queues to check in and make it through security, with thousands more unable to be reunited with their luggage. Adding to Heathrow’s problems, overrunning maintenance works meant the northernmost of the airport’s two runways was closed when traffic resumed on Friday.