Heathrow confirmed it is working with airlines to agree a new mechanism to avoid flight pre-Christmas cancellations as it faces a “huge logistical challenge” over post-pandemic staff recruitment.
Disclosure of the plan came as the London hub confirmed that its summer capacity cap will be removed from October 30.
Heathrow handled 18 million passengers over the summer but admitted total numbers for the full year of between 60-62 million will be 25% down than pre-pandemic 2019.
“Headwinds of a global economic crisis, war in Ukraine and the impact of Covid-19 mean we are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic demand for a number of years, except at peak times,” the airport admitted.
“We are working with airlines to agree a highly targeted mechanism that, if needed, would align supply and demand on a small number of peak days in the lead up to Christmas.
“This would encourage demand into less busy periods, protecting the heavier peaks, and avoiding flight cancellations due to resource pressures.”
Businesses across the airport need to recruit and train up to 25,000 security cleared staff, described as “a huge logistical challenge”.
Heathrow added: “We are supporting, including establishing a recruitment taskforce to help fill vacancies, working closely with the government on a review of airline ground handling and appointing a senior operational executive to invest in joint working.”
The west London airport claimed that the vast majority of passengers had good service this summer.
“This was achieved by everyone at the airport working together to serve passengers and has been helped by our joint efforts to keep capacity and demand in balance,” a Heathrow statement said.
“We served 18 million passengers this summer, more than any other European hub, in spite of being hit harder than European rivals during lockdown. Our priority is to build back the airport eco-system to meet demand at peak times.”
Heathrow revealed underlying losses of £442 million in the year to date “as regulated income fails to cover costs, adding to the £4 billion in the prior two years”.
It added: “We have acted responsibly in the face of an uncertain market to protect liquidity and cashflow and reduced gearing. We are not forecasting any dividends this year.
“The experience this summer has shown that airlines will charge what the market will bear, regardless of how low the level of airport fees are.
“That may be commercially rational, but what consumers tell us they value is a smooth and predictable journey through the airport. Our response to the CAA’s final proposals on the H7 regulatory settlement has highlighted a number of errors which, if uncorrected, would result in insufficient investment in the service of current and future consumer needs.”
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “We can be proud that everyone at Heathrow pulled together to serve consumers this summer – ensuring 18 million people got away on their journeys, more than any other airport in Europe, with the vast majority experiencing good service.
“We have lifted the summer cap and are working with airlines and their ground handlers to get back to full capacity at peak times as soon as possible.
“As we look to the future, we encourage the CAA to think again at stimulating the long-term investment that will deliver the smooth and predictable journeys consumer value most, rather than focusing on short-term pricing which we have seen only benefits airline profits.”