From Sky News !
If true, yet another nail in the coffin of hemorrhaging public confidence in the travel industry !!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....140df17427.jpg

El Grifo

That article also goes on to say:

He said some "critical functions" are "significantly under-resourced", especially ground handlers, who are contracted by airlines to provide check-in staff, load and unload bags and turn around aircraft.

Sounds like that's an element completely under the control of the airlines. Not sure that will wash, someone will challenge it I suspect.

Anyone who cannot buy a ticket is not a passenger, therefore this policy has no impact on passengers.

I have noticed today that, looking to book BA London to LAX in August-September, they have zeroed out all economy availability. I'm well aware of the booking trends for such a routing, and the typical curve of bookings would by no means have them fully sold out for every day 6 weeks ahead. They are now running three times a day on the route, which is up at pre-Covid levels.

For anyone with tickets who gets cancelled, nowadays this is far more of a nuisance than before, with various organisations having followed the airline trend with non-refundable charges bought in advance. Hotels are really into this, but also major USA attractions, and it's even creeping into car rental, who never used to do it. Quite what liability an airline has when cancelling their part of an overall trip like this is unclear, it's bad enough trying to get an airline to refund their own part.

How can that be enforced?
Does LHR get booking stats?

If it's anything like the times when flow restrictions are introduced, eg arrival rate reductions in bad weather, BA cheerfully cancel scads of short-haul, including most or all of their domestic operation, while everyone else carries on as normal, likewise the BA long-haul ops.

Looking at recent weeks' BA flight cancellation announcements, much the same seems to be happening.

It is being reported that LHR wants to cap pax at 100,000 per day. That's 36.5m per annum, or roughly half what LHR was handling pre-Covid.
That's an astonishing reduction/admission of failure.

I understood that to be 100,000 departing pax, which is a lot closer to the pre-covid average over the year, but well down when considering it’s the busiest time of the year.

Arrived into LHR last week with the flight operating cabin baggage only announced 24h beforehand, necessitating the dumping of our suitcase and a few possessions. So even if flights appear on the board it doesn’t mean they are operating normally.

Correct.

Heathrow's announcement of capacity cap

If we are not careful the Greens will leap at this and demand, like their mates at Amsterdam, that it is made permanent.

Emirates fuming at Heathrow Airport's "cavalier attitude"

Emirates slams ‘incompetent’ London Heathrow ‘airmageddon’ (travelmole.com)“LHR management team are cavalier about travellers and their airline customers.”

LHR chose not to act, not to plan, not invest. Now faced with an ‘airmageddon’ situation due to their incompetence and non-action, they are pushing entire burden – of costs and the scramble to sort the mess – to airlines and travellers.”

Not pulling any puncheshttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62163254

So that will be Emirates v Qatar (part owners of Heathrow, and are the main occupants of T4)

May well embolden others to reject the request too!!

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...".

Interesting article about a spat between Willie Walsh (ex-BA) and Sir Nigel Rudd (ex-Heathrow) about each blaming the other for current difficulties

'Slasher' Walsh vs Razor Rudd in bitter battle of the air barons: Ex-British Airways boss and City grandee trade blows in fierce clash over travel chaos (msn.com)

If the issue is solely a lack of airline ground handling staff then why impose a blanket cap across all airlines?

If an airline is able to attest it has sufficient resources then why should it be penalised for the failings of their rivals?

A discussion perhaps for somebody senior in an airline or the IATA CEO or CAA/DfT to have with Heathrow management, and unlikely to take place in public... unless perhaps if the airline is Emirates or the person has the initials WW ?