Is Lord Deighton still chairman of Heathrow ? Conservative politician in the Lords.
Grant Shapps as Transport Secretary presumably said to him "Hey, Deighton, old chap, I'm occupied with far more important stuff standing for leader of the party, and all the civil servants in The Department and at the CAA know it so will do blow all in the meantime.. Do something which looks good in the press. Something which can be summarised in one paragraph in the media."
Deighton to Holland-Kaye : "C'mon, this is boring stuff for me, these aeroplane things. Do something pronto otherwise your chances for an OBE are out of the window and Mrs Holland-Kaye will never get the chance to wear a fancy hat at The Palace and meet The Queen".
Holland-Kaye : "Um ... er ... oh my God. Tell 'em all to cut passengers by 10%. My, that was a difficult decision. If they argue, tell them it's against the law. Doesn't matter that it's not, the media will never notice the difference."
Heathrow ops : "What about the passengers booked ?".
All the above : "Who gives an F...".