Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss posted an adjusted EBIT of Swfr67 million ($70.1 million) for the first half of the year, improving from an EBIT loss of Swfr398 million in the same period a year ago. Total revenues rose 180% to Swfr1.8 billion, it says in a 4 August statement. During the period, Swiss carried some 5.3 million passengers, five times as many as it had carried in the prior-year period. The increase was reflected in first-half revenues, it adds. Capacity was at 62% of that of the comparable period in 2019; by contrast, first-half capacity in 2021 was at some 26% of its 2019 level. Finance chief Markus Binkert states that Swiss returned to profit again after just the first six months of this year despite operating reduced capacities. The encouraging business development in the first few months of the year strengthened further in the second-quarter period, the airline says. Swiss benefited in particular from sizeable booking demand and from the improved profitability provided by its completed restructuring activities. For the second quarter, Swiss has reported an improved adjusted EBIT of Swfr114 million as compared to an EBIT loss of Swfr197 million in the prior-year period. Revenues increased substantially to Swfr1.1 billion from Swfr359 million in the second quarter of 2021. Swiss says it is confident of returning to profit in its 2022 full-year results despite the likelihood of an economic slowdown and high fuel prices. Chief executive Dieter Vranckx states: "Thanks to the restructuring that we conducted last year, Swiss stands today on solid financial foundations."

Amsterdam Schiphol airport is extending a limit on daily departing passengers through September and October, as it seeks to minimise disruption amid the recovery. The hub will process a maximum of 67,500 departing passengers per day in September, rising to 69,500 in October – figures broadly aligned with airlines’ projections for the period. "This has been the subject of extensive consultation with airlines in the recent period," notes Schiphol. It will actually process fewer passengers than in August. when 73,000 travellers per day were permitted to depart daily. It links the reduction to the seasonal effect of passengers wearing "more clothes, such as coats, hiking boots and vests", stating: "As a result, it takes a little longer to check all the hand baggage and the passengers." Schiphol adds that "virtually all parties at the airport are understaffed", with the result that delays and faults ripple through the entire process. September and October include a two-week autumn holiday period, set to create an excess of around 3,500 local departing passengers on those dates, it adds. Schiphol is taking the action as it seeks to ensure a reliable customer journey through the airport that minimises disruption. Like many airports across Europe and globally, Schiphol has struggled to cope with the demand from passengers as the recovery has ramped up through the summer. "Based on the capacity made available by Schiphol, the independent slot co-ordinator (ACNL) will consult with all airlines to ensure that the number of passengers is appropriate in relation to the security capacity," it says. It highlights that the number of available security staff continues to rise, with 200 new positions beginning recruitment this month and a further 80 in October.

British Airways has made preparations to begin restricting ticket sales to long-haul destinations as part of its strategy to comply with a 100,000-passenger limit on daily departures from Heathrow. The IAG-owned airline says its main focus is on reducing short-haul passenger numbers but warns that, because of the number of flights it operates, it may be required to axe services or ticket sales on some long-haul route and dates. Heathrow has imposed the cap on departing passenger numbers until 11 September as part effort to minimise disruption to travellers as it ramps up from the pandemic. BA had already cancelled a wave of services through the summer even before the cap, but is now also limiting the number of seats it sells on its flights. It recently announced that it would suspend short-haul ticket sales on services from Heathrow until 8 August, action that has now been extended by a week to the 15th. "We took pre-emptive action to reduce our schedule this summer to give customers certainty about their travel plans and to build more resilience into our operation given the ongoing challenges facing the entire aviation industry," says the airline. "When Heathrow introduced its passenger cap, we took a small number of additional flights from our schedule and to continue to comply with the cap, we've been taking responsible action by limiting sales or all the available fares on some of our Heathrow services to ensure more seats are available to rebook customers. We'll continue to manage bookings to be within the Heathrow imposed cap so we can get our customers away as planned this summer." BA adds that it is constantly reviewing the number of customers departing from Heathrow in order to match numbers with the cap. As well as staying within the limit, by restricting the number of seats for sale on certain dates and enacting wider ticket-sale suspensions, BA hopes to protect existing bookings and minimise operational disruption.