London’s Heathrow airport said on Friday that was bracing for its biggest Christmas since 2019.
“We have been working with airlines and their ground handlers to prepare for the Christmas peak, and have a good plan, which will not require any capacity cap,” said Heathrow.
The airport did noted that it was “aware” of potential strike action at a number of organisations ahead of the all-important travel period, including a national Border Force strike, and stated it was working to support organisations on contingency plans to minimise any impact and encourage “all parties to put the interests of passengers first”.
Heathrow also said it had served 5.9m passengers in October, 84% of 2019 levels, while year-to-date it said 50.0m passengers had passed through its gates, 74% of 2019 levels, as the leisure market was “buoyant” thanks to the half term getaway.
At current rates of recruitment, Heathrow also said it was on track to get back to pre-pandemic employment levels before the peak summer holiday period in 2023.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “We have come so far since Omicron grounded Christmas travel plans last year. Heathrow, our airline partners and their handlers are all working together to make sure everyone can be reunited with their loved ones this Christmas.”
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
