Heathrow passenger numbers improving but still below pre-pandemic levels

Heathrow Airport welcomed almost three times as many passengers in August than it did in the same month last year.

New figures show that six million people passed through the London airport’s terminals last month – up from 2.2 million last August.

It was still below the pre-coronavirus total of 7.7 million passengers in August 2019, however.

The airport is still trying to get on top of staff shortages that saw it announce a cap on the number of daily departing passengers earlier this year.

That cap was recently extended to the end of October.

Airline travellers across the UK have faced months of chaos, with disrupted and axed flights, paired with long waits at check-in, security and baggage collection.

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Heathrow claims that since the cap was introduced in July, there have been fewer last-minute cancellations, more punctual flights and shorter wait times for bags.

But airlines blame the airport – one of the busiest in the world – for failing to prepare for a bounce back in passenger traffic following the pandemic.

Heathrow did not comment on its latest traffic figures due to the death of the Queen.

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