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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Milo Boyd

Emirates backtracks and agrees to Heathrow flight cap until mid-August

Emirates Airline have backed down following a row over Heathrow Airport's passenger cap and decided to limit future ticket sales.

Last week the west London travel hub announced plans to cap passengers at 100,000 per day until early September, with airlines asked to adjust accordingly.

The move entailed around 4,000 fewer passengers flying each day, meaning a number of flights would have to be grounded.

While some carriers such as British Airways were quick to agree to the terms, Emirates Airlines took aim at Heathrow instead.

The airline said Heathrow had a "blatant disregard" for its customers and now faced "an 'airmageddon' situation due to their incompetence and non-action".

Emirates has agreed to cut back on future ticket sales (AFP via Getty Images)

Emirates Airlines President, Sir Tim Clark KBE, said: "This (cap) is entirely unreasonable and unacceptable, and we reject these demands.

"Until further notice, Emirates plans to operate as scheduled to and from LHR.”

He blamed Heathrow for failing to adequately deal with the rise in demand post-pandemic, and said that the airline's staff were holding up their side of the bargain.

Days after issuing the fiery statement, Emirates joined with Heathrow to release a joint statement following a 'constructive meeting'.

“The President of Emirates Airline and the CEO of Heathrow Airport held a constructive meeting this morning," it read.

"Emirates agreed the airline was ready and willing to work with the airport to remediate the situation over the next two weeks, to keep demand and capacity in balance and provide passengers with a smooth and reliable journey through Heathrow this summer.

"Emirates has capped further sales on its flights out of Heathrow until mid-August to assist Heathrow in its resource ramp-up, and is working to adjust capacity.

"In the meantime, Emirates flights from Heathrow operate as scheduled and ticketed passengers may travel as booked."

The statement means that while Emirates Airline's accepts the terms of the cap, it will only apply it to future bookings, honouring those made prior to the announcement.

The dates the passenger cap dates will apply at Heathrow airport are from Thursday July 12 2022 until Sunday September 11 2022.

The passenger cap also applies to other UK airports such as Gatwick, and Luton.

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