Emirates slams Heathrow Airport's order to cut flights

LONDON (AP) — Mideast carrier Emirates on Thursday rejected a demand by London's Heathrow Airport for airlines to cut summer flights in a bid to ease travel disruptions, calling it an “entirely unreasonable and unacceptable” move that shows “blatant disregard for customers.”

In a blistering statement, the airline lashed into Heathrow's management, accusing it of “incompetence” for not being ready to deal with the “super peak period” for travel.

Emirates, one of the world's biggest airlines, was firing back a day after Heathrow announced it was capping daily passenger numbers at 100,000 and telling airlines to stop selling tickets as it seeks to quell travel chaos caused by soaring travel demand and staff shortages.

Airlines have already slashed thousands of flights from their summer schedules after U.K. aviation authorities said they wouldn't be punished for not using valuable takeoff and landing slots in a bid to prevent last-minute cancellations.

Heathrow, Britain's busiest airport, said the cuts weren't enough, but Emirates drew a line, exposing tensions between the airport and the airlines that are its customers.

Emirates, which operates six daily return flights between Heathrow and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said it's “highly regrettable” that the airport on Wednesday night gave it 36 hours to comply with capacity cuts “of a figure that appears to be plucked from thin air."

“Their communications not only dictated the specific flights on which we should throw out paying passengers, but also threatened legal action for non-compliance,” the airline said.

Booming demand for summer travel after two years of COVID-19 travel restrictions have swamped airlines and airports in Europe, which are shorthanded after many pilots, cabin crew, check-in staff, and baggage...