Heathrow admits travel demand failings

London's Heathrow Airport has admitted it is struggling to cope with a surge in travel demand this year and issued an apology for unacceptable service in recent weeks.

Staff shortages mean there have been flight delays and cancelations at many British airports that are facing persistent problems such as long queues to pass through security, lost baggage, and an inability to help travelers with mobility issues.

Industry observers say the challenge for airports has been caused in part by their inability to hire enough staff, after aviation jobs and pay were cut during the pandemic, and as a consequence of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

Heathrow said in statement on Monday that it has grappled with the equivalent of 40 years of growth in passenger demand in the space of just four months.

It said that 25 million passengers traveled through the airport in the first six months of 2022, noting that this compared with just 19.4 million passengers across the whole of 2021.

The British government recently permitted airlines to cancel flights without losing their share of access rights to airports, with what was described as a slot amnesty that aimed to ease the crisis.

"Despite our best efforts there have been periods in recent weeks where service levels have not been acceptable," Heathrow said on Monday.

The comments come in response to criticisms made by the chief of the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, on Sunday, claiming that Heathrow was not fully prepared for the surge in demand.

"They (Heathrow) were arguing that airlines should be operating at least 80 percent of their slots through the summer period," Willie Walsh, IATA director general, told the BBC.

"They clearly did not provide sufficient resources to deal with that level of activity, so you would have to be critical of Heathrow," he added.

John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow's chief executive, warned that the airport might ask airlines to cancel more flights if it thinks the schedules are still too ambitious.

"We will review the schedule changes that airlines have submitted in response to the government's requirement to minimize disruption for passengers this summer and will ask them to take further action if necessary," he said.

"We want everyone who is traveling through Heathrow to be confident that they will have a safe and reliable journey."