London Heathrow asks carriers to cut flights as air chaos reigns

London’s Heathrow Airport asked some airlines to cancel a number of flights scheduled for Monday, the latest hitch to roil travel.

Airport authorities requested carriers cancel about 10% of flights on Monday across terminal two and three, a Heathrow spokesperson said in a text message. The move came in response to the knock-on effect of a baggage system fault over the weekend, the spokesperson added. About 30 flights will be hit by the move.

London Gatwick airport said last week that it would scrap hundreds of flights over the peak summer travel period, after Amsterdam’s Schiphol hub took a similar step. Meanwhile, Dublin Airport authorities have said they will compensate some passengers who missed their flights amid long queues.

The aviation industry’s capacity crisis has deepened as post-lockdown travel demand has surged, with airlines and airports struggling to hire enough staff to handle the revived passenger flows.

Up to now, Heathrow has been less impacted by staffing crisis hitting the wider industry since its key long haul flights have been slower to recover following the pandemic.