Ryanair adds Stansted flights as Heathrow extends passenger cap

2022-08-16

Ryanair boosts Stansted flights as Heathrow extends passenger cap until October: Boss Michael O’Leary slams ‘hopeless’ airport and says airline will add 500 extra services during half-term after family getaways were thrown into chaos

Ryanair has added an extra 500 flights serving London Stansted just in time for October half-term after Heathrow said it would not axe passenger cap
Chief executive Michael O’Leary blasted ‘hopeless Heathrow’ for move which will ‘cut flights and raise fares for families’
Heathrow announced it was extending 100,000 daily outbound passenger cap until October 29, six weeks after it was originally set to end
Fears of further travel chaos after summer of misery for British holidaymakers
***Will YOUR holiday be affected by the Heathrow passenger cap extension? Email [email protected]***

Has your October half-term holiday been affected?

Could your family holiday be impacted by the Heathrow passenger cap extension?

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Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has announced the airline will add more than 500 extra flights at Stansted for holidaymakers looking to get away over the October half-term – after Heathrow left family travel plans in tatters by extending the passenger cap.

The chief executive of the Dublin-based airline today branded Heathrow ‘hopeless’ accusing it of ‘continuing to mismanage travel’ as he revealed the extra flights at the Essex airport will have capacity for 100,000 passengers.

It comes after Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, said it would not lift its cap on the number of daily outbound passengers as planned on September 11, instead extending it until the end of October.

Ryanair’s move could be a lifeline for families hoping to get away during the half-term school holidays amid fears of further flight cancellations and travel chaos that has plagued UK airports throughout the summer.

Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said: ‘While hopeless Heathrow continues to cut flights and raise fares for families, Ryanair and London Stansted continue to add flights, and offer thousands of low-fare seats for the autumn mid-term break.

‘With over 500 additional flights, more than 100,000 additional seats and prices starting from just 29.99 euros (£25.29), Ryanair looks forward to welcoming thousands of additional families during the autumn mid-term break on its low-fare flights to/from London Stansted Airport.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary blasted ‘hopeless Heathrow’ and said his airline’s decision to add extra flights at London Stansted would help families looking for an autumn getaway

Ryanair has announced plans to add an extra 500 flights serving London Stansted just in time for the October half-term holidays. It comes after Heathrow announced it was extending its cap on the number of daily passengers until October 29

‘While hopeless Heathrow continues to mismanage air travel, Ryanair and London Stansted will continue to grow and deliver for London families, the way we have through all of summer 2022.’

Ryanair insisted that it and Stansted have ‘more than sufficient staff to handle these additional flights’.

The decision by Heathrow to extend its 100,000 daily passenger cap until October 29 means up to one million seats could be axed from airline schedules ahead of the October school holiday half-term.

It could also prevent already high fares from falling as prices could be inflated by the limited number of available seats.

Passengers have been left in limbo as airlines worked with airport authorities to decide which flights may need axing. Customers will be notified about any flight changes in the coming days.

In response to the extension of the cap, a Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman said: ‘We are disappointed that Heathrow Airport has already decided to extend the passenger capacity cap until the end of October, as additional resources come on line every week and the airport experience improves.

‘Airline customers have a right to expect their bookings will be honoured and we’re doing everything in our power to minimise disruption, getting our customers to where they need to be smoothly.

‘We want to remove the cap as soon as possible, but we can only do so when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to deliver the service our passengers deserve

‘We urge Heathrow to provide a comprehensive plan for returning to normal operations as soon as possible.’

Families’ hopes for a half-term holiday were thrown into chaos yesterday as Britain’s biggest airport extended its passenger cap to the end of October. Pictured, passengers queuing to check-in at Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport on 25 August

The suspension of sales on domestic or European tickets was implemented by British Airways at the beginning of August to allow for existing customers to rebook their cancelled flights. Pictured, a busy Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport on 23 August

Heathrow chief commercial officer Ross Baker said: ‘Our primary concern is ensuring we give our passengers a reliable service when they travel.

‘That’s why we introduced temporary capacity limits in July which have already improved journeys during the summer getaway.

‘We want to remove the cap as soon as possible, but we can only do so when we are confident that everyone operating at the airport has the resources to deliver the service our passengers deserve.’

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘It looks like another one million seats or so are going to be removed from the schedules because of this cap extension.

‘Some of those booked for half term may find their flights are changed so need to keep an eye on any communications from their airline or tour operator.

‘The cap may be working for Heathrow and smoothing passenger journeys, but it’s causing continuing frustration for the million or so who are going to be caught up by this decision.’

Passengers face having holidays cancelled, departure dates moved or flights shifted to other airports.

After a summer of disruption, the move threatens further flight cancellations just as families look to get away for the October school holidays. It could also prevent already high fares from falling as prices could be inflated by the limited number of available seats. Pictured, chaos in Gatwick Airport on 22 August

Those affected are entitled to a refund, or to be flown on the same day as their booking and as close to their original departure time as possible.

Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye has warned the cap could last until next summer as airlines struggle to find new staff, particularly ground-handlers. He said the cap was necessary to prevent last-minute cancellations because airlines were trying to operate an unrealistic number of flights.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘There’s been no increase in ground-handling resources by the airlines at Heathrow within the last six months. It’s been absolutely flat.

Gatwick has also capped the number of departing flights over the summer, with other airports such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Frankfurt airports following suit. Gatwick airport chaos is pictured on 24 August

‘So we’ve seen no change in airline behaviour towards ground-handling, and unless something changes radically, we’re going to be in the same situation in six months’ time or maybe even 12 months. We really need to fix this. It’s not just Heathrow, it applies to all airports across Europe.’

Gatwick has also capped the number of departing flights over the summer, with other airports such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Frankfurt airports following suit.

Mr Holland-Kaye said ground-handling staff levels are about 70 per cent of what they were pre-pandemic, despite airlines operating around 85 per cent of flights.

British Airways have cancelled the most flights out of all UK airlines. Pictured is a British Airways plane at Heathrow

Heathrow said the cap imposed in July had resulted in ‘fewer last-minute cancellations’ and ‘shorter waits for bags’.

It added the capacity limits would be kept under review and ‘could be lifted earlier should there be a sustained picture of better resilience and a material increase in resourcing levels’.

Since May passengers at major airports, including Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick, have experienced major disruption, with long queues at security and baggage reclaim and last-minute cancellations.

Hundreds of bags of luggage arranged outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport. A shortage of baggage workers has seen huge delays in some people receiving their luggage

Consumer rights group Which? has warned that the move will now leave the plans of thousands of passengers in limbo.

Guy Hobbs, travel editor at the organisation, described the situation as a ‘mess’ and urged the airport to provide clarity to holiday-makers about the flight schedule.

Why is Heathrow imposing a daily passenger cap?

Airlines were able to take advantage of a Government scheme which meant they could cancel summer flights without losing their future rights to the valuable take-off and landing slots.

But even with this measure, Heathrow believes airlines still planned to operate flights carrying 4,000 more daily passengers than could be processed in an acceptable manner.

Heathrow said: ‘On average only about 1,500 of these 4,000 daily seats have currently been sold to passengers, and so we are asking our airline partners to stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers.

‘We recognise that this will mean some summer journeys will either be moved to another day, another airport or be cancelled and we apologise to those whose travel plans are affected.

‘But this is the right thing to do to provide a better, more reliable journey and to keep everyone working at the airport safe.’

Heathrow insisted the capacity cap is ‘in line with limits implemented at other airports’.

It added that airlines have ‘discretion as to how they implement this in their individual schedules’.

He said: ‘Though the extension of the passenger cap may help Heathrow prevent a repeat of the unacceptable last-minute cancellations we saw earlier in the summer, thousands of people will now be anxious about whether their travel plans could be scuppered.

‘Heathrow and impacted airlines must act without delay to provide travellers with clarity on which flights are being cut, and airlines must ensure affected passengers are aware of their rights to rebooking or refunds.’

British Airways has also said that they may continue to ‘take targeted action to limit the number of seats or fares available’ during this ‘challenging period’.

This comes as the airline was revealed to cancel the most flights out of all UK carriers, cutting nearly 30,000 flights from their summer schedule.

At the height of the chaos, British Airways cancelled 3.5% of their schedule compared to budget airline Ryanair which axed a mere 0.3%, according to data obtained by Sky News.

The airline has suffered from staff shortages and absences after cutting 10,000 jobs in 2020.

According to British Airways, pausing the sale for some flights allowed for existing customers to rebook their cancelled flights.

Heathrow chief commercial officer Ross Baker said: ‘Our primary concern is ensuring we give our passengers a reliable service when they travel.

‘That’s why we introduced temporary capacity limits in July which have already improved journeys during the summer getaway.

British Airways said: ‘We will continue to work with Heathrow to provide certainty for our existing customers while giving opportunities for new customers to travel with us this summer.’

A group of travellers sit down in Terminal 5 while waiting for their flight. Thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled last-minute since spring

Thousands of BA staff to get pay hike of up to 13%

Thousands of British Airways workers will receive a pay rise worth around 13 per cent, it was reported last night.

Union barons called off strikes by check-in staff and baggage handlers at Heathrow last month after a deal with the airline was struck.

The deal means workers will receive a lump sum worth 5 per cent of their wages this month.

They will then get a consolidated 5 per cent pay hike in September and a further 3 per cent consolidated increase in December, The Guardian reported.

Unite said this represented a ’13 per cent pay rise’ overall and it is understood the deal will apply to 16,000 workers in the company.

Heathrow-based staff voted for strike action earlier this year after BA cut their pay by 10 per cent during the pandemic to keep the airline afloat.

Unite boss Sharon Graham said: ‘By standing strong with Unite, our members have compelled BA to table a pay rise that goes towards compensating for the pay cuts suffered during the pandemic.’

A BA spokesman said the airline was ‘pleased with this outcome’.

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