Heathrow airport lifts the passenger cap as the summer rush eases

Heathrow Airport in London announced yesterday that restrictions on the number of passengers flying from its terminals would be lifted.

The cap, which was earlier introduced in July 2022, will end on October 29, 2022, along with the end of the summer season.

Heathrow was among the few airports that asked airlines to trim their flights during peak summer travel. The airport fixed an upper level of 1,00,000 passengers in a day to function smoothly amid flight cancellations, staff shortages, and long queues.

A spokeswoman for Heathrow said, “This cap resulted in fewer last-minute cancellations, better punctuality, and shorter waits for bags. “Our focus has always been on removing the cap as quickly as possible—but we will only do so if we are confident that adding in more passengers will not erode the service levels that the cap has secured.”

The cap during the peak travel season also led to a lot of criticism from airlines, which were looking to boost their sales after the pandemic.

In August 2022, British Airways’ parent company, International Airlines Group (GB:IAG), paused its short-haul flight tickets from the airport to cut down on new bookings.

Later, BA, which is Heathrow’s biggest airline, announced that 10,000 flights would be cancelled during the winter season. In total, the company cut its 8% share of total winter flights.

BA’s competitor, EasyJet (GB:EZJ), also cut around 11,000 flights and operated around 90% of its 2019 capacity.

Is IAG a good stock?

According to TipRanks’ analyst consensus, IAG stock has a Moderate Buy rating.

The IAG price target is147p, with a high and a low forecast of 185p and 88p, respectively. The price target implies around 50% upside potential.

Conclusion

As the airlines brace up for the winter season, they will welcome this move from Heathrow and look forward to serving more customers.

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