London's Heathrow extends cap on passengers through Oct

London, Aug 16 (IANS) London's Heathrow Airport has announced that it will extend its cap on passenger numbers for another six weeks as the aviation sector continues to struggle to cope with demand for travel.No more than 100,000 travellers will be able to depart per day until October 29, the largest airport in Britain said on Monday.It said the move was taken following an improvement in punctuality and fewer last-minute cancellations after introducing a temporary cap in July, reports dpa news agency.The capacity limit of 100,000 daily departing passengers was initially to last until September 11, but that date was now pushed back.Tens of thousands of flights have already been cancelled this summer as the industry struggles to cope with the demand for air travel amid staffing shortages.Many passengers flying to and from the airport have suffered severe disruption in recent months, with long security queues and baggage system breakdowns.Heathrow said the cap imposed in July had resulted in "fewer last-minute cancellations" and "shorter waits for bags". It added the capacity limits would be kept under review and "could be lifted earlier should there be a sustained picture of better resilience and a material increase in resourcing levels".
--IANS ksk/

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