Hardly a week goes by without the whole of the British and international media pillorying airport London Heathrow for its disastrous handling of passengers and baggage. And not a week goes by without the airport management officially apologising for the inconvenience caused.
So the authorities at London Heathrow have decided to do something about the problems in the terminals. Heathrow asks airlines to make a further effort and reduce the number of flights they operate. In fact, the airport has decided toimpose a limit of 100,000 passengers per day instead of an estimated 104,000 daily passengers. Before the Covid crisis, Heathrow recorded up to 125,000 passengers/day.
The measure came into force on 12 July. It should apply until 11 September.
The idea of imposing a limit on the number of passengers or aircraft has already been quietly taken up by other European airports. A Amsterdam SchipholThe authorities have imposed a 16% reduction in the number of passengers handled. For its part, Frankfurt reduced the number of aircraft movements during peak hours from 104 to 94.
To sell or not to sell tickets, that is the question
Heathrow has also asked the airlines serving the hub to stop selling tickets for the summer season.. An injunction that Willie Walsh, the Director General of IATA and former Director General of British Airways, describes as "a blatant abuse of power". ridiculous" . " Heathrow tries to maximise profits at the expense of airlines" he commented.
The airport rejects this accusation. It explains that it currently has to managing 40 years of growth in just four months. An airport spokesperson replied to Willie Walsh: ". The last thing the airport needs are ill-informed comments from retired airline bosses" . The famous British phlegm has also taken a beating!
No deal for EmiratesEmirates reacted 14 July to Heathrow's announcement. Vehemently so... The airline said: " It is very regrettable that [London Heathrow management, LHR] gave us 36 hours last night to comply with the capacity reductions, a figure that seems to come out of nowhere ". And to clarify his position unequivocally: " This is totally unreasonable and unacceptable, and we reject these requests. ". Like many observers, Emirates is pointing the finger at the lack of anticipation shown by the management of the British hub: " All the signs of a strong travel rebound were there, and Emirates has been speaking publicly about this for months. We planned ahead to be ready to serve customers and meet travel demand, including re-hiring and training 1,000 A380 pilots last year. (...) LHR has chosen not to act, not to plan, not to invest. Today, faced with an "airmageddon" situation due to its incompetence and inaction, it is placing the entire burden - of the costs and efforts required to resolve the problem - on the airlines and travellers. ". And the company's management concludes: " Until further notice, Emirates plans to operate as scheduled to and from LHR. ". |
