Heathrow Airport has warned that its passenger caps could be brought back in for the peak Christmas period.
The airport had previously introduced limits on passenger numbers as it struggled to cope with a surge of demand from travellers post-Covid, amidst staff shortages.
Now the airport has revealed plans to recruit 25,000 members of staff, but has also warned that passenger limits could be put in place over the key Christmas travel season to help minimise the risk of delays.
In a statement the company explained: "We are working with airlines to agree a highly targeted mechanism that, if needed, would align supply and demand on a small number of peak days in the lead up to Christmas. This would encourage demand into less busy periods, protecting the heavier peaks, and avoiding flight cancellations due to resource pressures."
Tens of thousands more staff need to be employed to get Heathrow back to peak capacity, it suggested.
The businesses inside the UK's largest airport are 25,000 security-cleared staff short to deal with the busiest points,CEO John Holland-Kaye has said.
At the moment 76,000 employees work at the travel hub, meaning Heathrow is about 33% short of workers.
The airport's boss also warned that it will take years for Heathrow to get back to carrying as many passengers as before the pandemic.
The travel hub is expected to carry between 60 million and 62 million passengers this year, which is a quarter down compared to 2019.
This summer, airlines and airports faced major problems as they opened up after two years of lockdowns.
Cancelled flights and massive queues forced the companies to take unusual measures. Heathrow said that it would only accept 100,000 passengers per day.
The passenger cap will come to an end on October 31 but that will not be enough for the airport to get back to its former levels.
"Headwinds of a global economic crisis, war in Ukraine and the impact of Covid-19 mean we are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic demand for a number of years, except at peak times," the business said in a statement this morning.
Heathrow said it needs to build back its systems so they can meet demand at peak times.
There are also signs that passenger numbers are improving.
In September, 5.8 million passengers chose the airport, just 15% below 2019 levels and the highest since the start of the pandemic.
Mr Holland-Kaye said: "We can be proud that everyone at Heathrow pulled together to serve consumers this summer - ensuring 18 million people got away on their journeys, more than any other airport in Europe, with the vast majority experiencing good service.
"We have lifted the summer cap and are working with airlines and their ground handlers to get back to full capacity at peak times as soon as possible."
