Heathrow becomes UK’s travel nightmare

Less than a decade ago, London’s Heathrow was the undisputed hub airport for Europe, with thousands of daily passengers and an ambitious expansion plan that included a brand new runway. Terminal 5 was still a novelty - the UK’s largest free-standing building hosted a string of glitzy shops and restaurants, including one founded by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. The airport was associated with aspiration, growth and an outward-looking Britain.
 
How things change. Today, Heathrow is locked in yet another dispute with airlines after insisting they halt ticket sales during the lucrative school holiday season, a move that could cost as much as $500 million in lost revenue. The airport has been struggling to manage a post-pandemic rush of holidaymakers, with long queues of frustrated fliers becoming a common scene. One airline, Emirates, initially refused to comply with the cap on passengers, describing it as “airmageddon,” before backing down.
 
Any prospect of a third runway remains years away, as critics ask whether Heathrow needs more space if it cannot even cope with its current capacity, regardless of environmental concerns. With Britain’s chronic labor shortage at the heart of the travel chaos, Heathrow’s travails have become emblematic of a nation beset by economic stagnation, political upheaval and an increasingly uncertain place in the world.
 
Heathrow is not alone, of course. It has been a torrid summer for air travel across Europe. London’s Gatwick, Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Frankfurt are among a number of airports limiting capacity. Nonetheless, the UK has been harder hit than its counterparts on the Continent, given its extremely low number of job-seekers and a limited supply of European labor post-Brexit.
 
The Emirates row raised the prospect of a rebellion from other airlines reluctant to curb passenger flows following two years of limited foreign travel. Late Friday, the carrier and the airport announced an about-face.