London’s Heathrow Airport has announced it is capping the number of passengers at the airport this summer in order to mitigate travel disruptions, reports Travel Weekly. From July 12 – September 11, traveler capacity is being capped at 100,000 per day; the airport has asked airlines to stop selling tickets during that period to help achieve their goal. In an open letter to passengers, Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye noted that Heathrow has "seen 40 years of passenger growth in just four months" and outlined staffing problems with both the airport and airlines, particularly for security workers and ground handlers. Holland-Kaye further stated, “The latest forecasts indicate that even despite the amnesty, daily departing seats over the summer will average 104,000 -- giving a daily excess of 4,000 seats. On average only about 1,500 of these 4,000 daily seats have currently been sold to passengers, and so we are asking our airline partners to stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers.” Due to these forecasts, as well as the reduced resources of both the airport and airlines, further service issues and disruptions are anticipated throughout the summer.

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has published the first-ever bill of rights for airline passengers with disabilities, reports Travel + Leisure. The Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights applies to individuals with a "physical or mental impairment that permanently or temporarily impacts a major life activity such as walking, hearing, or breathing." The bill outlines 10 specific rights, including the right to be treated with dignity and respect, the right to accessible airport facilities, the right to assistance at airports, the right to assistance on the aircraft, the right to travel with an assistive device or service animal, the right to receive seating accommodations, and the right to resolution of a disability-related issue. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated, “Today's announcements are the latest steps toward ensuring an air travel system that works for everyone”; the rules are applicable on all flights on US airlines as well as on flights to or from the US by foreign airlines.

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced it will award nearly $1 billion in grants for improvements to 85 airports nationwide, reports Transportation Today. The grants are part the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and are intended to expand terminal capacity, increase energy efficiency, and provide greater accessibility for individuals with disabilities. These include a $20 million grant for the Pittsburgh International Airport for a new 700,000-square-foot terminal with an improved passenger security screening checkpoint, a $35 million grant for the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to construct a zero-carbon electrical central utility plant, and a $1.67 million grant to support access by multimodal transportation in the Gainesville Regional Airport in Gainesville, Florida. Two grants of $15 million each will support the building of new air traffic control towers for the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport in Peoria, Illinois, and Asheville Regional Airport in Asheville, North Carolina.

Canada is again extending all of its existing pandemic-related border requirements for inbound travelers through September 30, 2022, reports Travel Pulse. All individuals entering Canada are still required to provide proof of full vaccination or provide the results of a recent negative COVID-19 test and quarantine for two weeks upon arrival to the country. They are also still required to use the country’s ArrivaCan app to upload travel and personal information. Canada’s Minister of Health, the Honorable Jean-Yves Duclos, stated, “As we move into the next phase of our COVID-19 response, it is important to remember that the pandemic is not over. We must continue to do all that we can to keep ourselves and others safe from the virus […] As we have said all along, Canada’s border measures will remain flexible and adaptable, guided by science and prudence.”

Hong Kong has ended a rule that temporarily banned airlines from flying if they were found to have five or more passengers infected with the COVID-19 virus, reports Reuters. Under the rule, airlines were not allowed to fly for five days, which was a reduction from the previous ban of up to two weeks. The bans incurred hundreds of flight cancellations, causing “unnecessary trouble” and inconvenience for inbound travelers. All individuals arriving in the country must still spent at least a week in hotel quarantine, comply with multiple testing ordinances, and fill out multiple forms. The government also stated its goal to improve quarantine arrangements in order to ease the movement of people "necessary for social and economic recovery." Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific said it welcomed the change and was committed to maintaining the flow of people and goods between Hong Kong and the rest of the world.