Ryanair boosts Stansted flights as Heathrow extends passenger cap until October 29
Ryanair sought to cash in on ‘hopeless’ Heathrow’s passenger cap yesterday by announcing hundreds of extra flights from a rival airport.
The budget airline said it will add more than 500 flights to and from London Stansted over the October half-term holiday period.
It means an extra 100,000 passengers will be able to pass through the hub, which is Ryanair’s biggest base in England.
The airline’s boss Michael O’Leary taunted Heathrow yesterday, saying: ‘While hopeless Heathrow continues to cut flights and raise fares for families, Ryanair and London Stansted continue to add flights, and offer thousands of low-fare seats for the autumn mid-term break.
While Heathrow continues to mismanage air travel, Ryanair and London Stansted will continue to grow and deliver for London families, the way we have through all of summer 2022.’
The airline insisted that Ryanair and Stansted have ‘more than sufficient staff to handle these additional flights’.
Ryanair has been one of the better performing carriers in recent months, cancelling far fewer flights than airlines such as British Airways and easyJet.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary blasted ‘hopeless Heathrow’ and said his airline’s decision to add extra flights at London Stansted would help families looking for an autumn getaway
Ryanair has announced plans to add an extra 500 flights serving London Stansted just in time for the October half-term holidays. It comes after Heathrow announced it was extending its cap on the number of daily passengers until October 29
Families’ hopes for a half-term holiday were thrown into chaos yesterday as Britain’s biggest airport extended its passenger cap to the end of October. Pictured, passengers queuing to check-in at Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport on 25 August
On Monday, Heathrow announced that it will not scrap its cap on daily outbound travellers next month as planned – meaning up to one million seats could be axed from airline schedules.
The draconian cap, which was set to end on September 11, will now continue until the end of October. It throws families’ hopes for a half-term break into chaos and means fares could soar even higher due to limited seats.
The airport has warned the cap could last until next summer if airlines don’t drastically ramp up the number of ground-handling staff they employ.
Paul Charles, chief executive at travel consultancy The PC Agency, said the plan will cause ‘stress and frustration’ for millions of passengers.
He added: ‘The ongoing uncertainty… is putting people off and encouraging them to either switch to other airports or not to travel overseas.’
The suspension of sales on domestic or European tickets was implemented by British Airways at the beginning of August to allow for existing customers to rebook their cancelled flights. Pictured, a busy Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport on 23 August
After a summer of disruption, the move threatens further flight cancellations just as families look to get away for the October school holidays. It could also prevent already high fares from falling as prices could be inflated by the limited number of available seats. Pictured, chaos in Gatwick Airport on 22 August
Gatwick has also capped the number of departing flights over the summer, with other airports such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Frankfurt airports following suit. Gatwick airport chaos is pictured on 24 August
British Airways have cancelled the most flights out of all UK airlines. Pictured is a British Airways plane at Heathrow
Hundreds of bags of luggage arranged outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport. A shortage of baggage workers has seen huge delays in some people receiving their luggage
A group of travellers sit down in Terminal 5 while waiting for their flight. Thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled last-minute since spring
