The first steps towards easing passenger misery at Heathrow are expected to be in place by the autumn, with BAA, the airport’s operator, confident that rules restricting travellers to one bag of hand luggage will be relaxed.

Jim Fitzpatrick, the aviation minister, will meet Stephen Nelson, BAA chief executive, for a tour of Heathrow on Thursday to discuss the airport’s problems and the group’s efforts to tackle delays that have angered City executives and dismayed the government.