Heathrow cutback

Whilst Heathrow Airport claims to have the support of the airlines in continuing limiting capacity it now has the wrath of the business travel community with Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association (BTA), adamant that it has got it wrong.
 
“The decision to extend the 100,000-passenger cap to the end of October does not have the best interest of travellers at its heart. It compounds the misery faced by many leisure travellers and heaps pain on British businesses trying to get back to international work”, Wratten says in a statement.

“It is time that Heathrow is truthful with its industry and all travellers.  What are their staffing levels and how quickly are they addressing the problem?

"As staff levels increase, surely the passenger cap can rise in order to help struggling airlines and to get British people overseas safely and efficiently?  Why are they taking unilateral action rather than reflecting the reality of their progress? We all deserve better”.

Heathrow claims that since the cap was introduced, passenger journeys have improved with fewer last-minute cancellations, better punctuality and shorter wait times for bags.

The airport does have a caveat and has issued the following statement: “The capacity limits will be kept under regular review and could be lifted earlier should there be a sustained picture of better resilience and a material increase in resourcing levels, notably at some airline ground handlers which remains a core constraint on capacity at the airport. The airport is a complex ecosystem with many organisations needing to work closely together. We encourage our partners to be transparent in sharing data, particularly on recruitment of additional colleagues, so that we can build confidence in the removal of the capacity limits as quickly as possible”.

www.heathrow.com

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