Reuters file photo
LONDON: Britain's biggest airport Heathrow warned that the demand outlook for the coming winter was uncertain given the growing economic headwinds plus the impact of a new wave of COVID-19 and the escalating situation in Ukraine.
Heathrow, situated west of London, said while it expected peak Christmas days to be very busy, the overall outlook was uncertain. Britons face a squeeze on their leisure spending due to rising inflation and higher household bills.
During September, Heathrow said 5.8 million passengers passed through the airport, 15% below levels seen in 2019, showing that travel was recovering from pandemic lows but was held back by a cap on departures introduced by the airport to cope with labour shortages and congestion.
The airport is due to remove the 100,000 daily cap at the end of October.