Following an airline last night’s open rebellion against the airport’s demands to slash flights, Heathrow’s management is under pressure from the government to reveal his solution to the ongoing travel chaos.
In a joint letter to Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye, the heads of the Department for Transport (DfT) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) pleaded with him to present a “credible” recovery strategy so that the airport can resume “reliably” operating at a “stable level of capacity.”
They have also asked the airport to explain why it thinks limiting the number of departing passengers each day “provides a safe and resilient airport with a positive passenger experience.”
It comes after Emirates, the largest international airline in the world, announced yesterday that it was refusing to cancel flights in order to abide by the airport’s new passenger capacity limit.
Heathrow has now implemented a 100,000 daily departing passenger limit in an effort to lower the likelihood of delays and cancellations prior to the school summer vacations.
Around 1,000 flights are anticipated to be cancelled as a result of the decision this summer.
However, the airline based in Dubai announced yesterday that it was defying Heathrow’s demands and was refusing to do so.
Following months of lengthy lines, numerous flight cancellations, lost luggage, and frequent delays—a situation it dubbed “airmageddon”—it also targeted the west London airport.
Virgin Atlantic also criticized Heathrow’s actions, alleging that it was to blame for malfunctions that contributed to the commotion.
The airport claimed last night that it had “no choice” but to make the “difficult” decision to impose a passenger cap because of the criticism.
A spokeswoman said it would be “disappointing” for any company to put “profit ahead of a safe and reliable passenger journey” if airlines refused to adhere to its passenger cap.
However, the DfT and CAA have recently brought Heathrow back into the spotlight. Dr. Rannia Leontaridi, director general of aviation for the DfT, and Mr. Holland-Kaye have asked for his opinion on the rationale behind the airport’s cap in a letter.
We need you to create a reliable and strong capacity recovery plan for the next six months that gives us confidence that Heathrow can run effectively at a stable level of capacity, the letter continued.
The Telegraph reports that Mr. Holland-Kaye has been given until Friday at noon to reassure them that the airport has enough staff to conduct security checks and assist passengers with disabilities.
It comes after travellers posted images of lengthy lines at the airport on social media overnight, one of which appeared to snake down a hallway in Terminal 3.
Yesterday, during yet another chaotic airport day:
Emirates announced that it would defy Heathrow Airport’s request that it and other airlines cancel flights in order to comply with the airport’s new passenger cap;
It happened after Heathrow officials imposed a daily passenger cap of 100,000 until September and required airlines to cancel 1,000 flights;
Despite Emirates’ protests, BA has begun contacting customers to see if they can change their flights before July 25 so that they can start rescheduling in order to comply with Heathrow’s requirements;
Today, Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, and Manchester airports all had lines of passengers;
In the meantime, shocking video depicts travelers at Stansted Airport dozing off on the ground while they wait for their flight;
Due to a luggage backlog, American airline Delta Air Lines sent a plane to Heathrow to retrieve 1,000 lost bags that were left there;
Garry Wilson, CEO of EasyJet Holidays, told the BBC that his company had done “everything in its power” to avoid flight cancellations and strengthen the resiliency of its scheduling;
More than 4,000 flights were canceled by the low-cost airline in the three months leading up to the end of June in an effort to avoid a repeat of the tumultuous scenes seen at airports over the Easter Holidays;
Gatwick Airport ran out of water, preventing some travelers from using the restrooms and preventing some food establishments from serving meals and beverages;
A number of famous people, including presenter Richard Osman, vented on Twitter about misplaced luggage, and Waterloo Road actress Angela Griffin claimed that she had endured multiple delays at the Passport Office while waiting 10 weeks for a passport.
It happens in the midst of a dispute between Heathrow and airlines over the airport’s passenger cap, which saw British Airways last night begin contacting passengers and asking them to reschedule their flights.
Travel chiefs were incensed by the bosses at the west London transportation hub on Tuesday after they announced an immediate 100,000 daily passenger cap.
Heathrow is already anticipating an average of 104,000 daily outbound passengers in the upcoming months, so airport chiefs ordered UK airlines to “stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers.”
Carriers reportedly had lengthy meetings with the airport and flight schedulers yesterday in an effort to reduce capacity at Terminals 3 and 5 by up to 15%.
And BA has begun contacting travellers who are scheduled to fly before July 25 to see if they can rearrange their ticket.
According to insiders in the industry, the firm is filleting out flights to make last-minute cancellations easier.
In order to comply with Heathrow’s passenger cap, according to MailOnline, the UK flag carrier has cancelled a “small number” of short-haul and domestic flights during the next two weeks.
According to BA, customers have been transferred to trains or other flights from Heathrow or City airports.
Yesterday, Paul Charles, a travel industry specialist and owner of the PC Agency, published an email from British Airways asking customers if they would like to rearrange their tickets for free.
According to BA, subject to availability, travellers may switch to another aircraft offered by BA on any day within the ensuing twelve months.
In response to the email, Mr. Charles tweeted: “I said it would be a summer of stress.
One Heathrow-based airline, BA, is now urging passengers planning to depart before July 25 to think about switching flights, giving them more flexibility in deciding whether to cancel at the last minute.
The new regulations, which will be in effect until September 11, are a part of Heathrow’s most recent efforts to stop a repeat of the chaotic scenes seen at airports throughout the UK over the Easter weekend during the school summer vacation.
In the most recent development in the mayhem at the airports this summer, BA started emailing clients yesterday to see if they might rearrange their flights.
According to the email, a daily passenger cap has been set by Heathrow Airport through September 2022.
They have consequently instructed us to modify our flight schedule in order to decrease the number of travellers using the airport this summer.
We comprehend that given the current travel difficulties, some customers might want to review their travel plans.
We want to be as accommodating as we can so that you can change your flights if you so choose.
“We have introduced a policy that will allow you to simply change your travel dates via our website if you are scheduled to depart between now and July 25 and you wish to rearrange your flights.”
The airline claims that the action is being taken to assist customers who are hesitant to fly due to the present travel turmoil and the summer heat wave and that it has already rescheduled in anticipation of Heathrow’s announcement.
According to MailOnline, around 80 flights have been cancelled over the course of the next two weeks.
However, BA claims that its schedule complies with Heathrow’s requirements and that there won’t be any last-minute cancellations, barring unforeseen technical difficulties.
While an easyJet boss blamed airports, an American airline sent an empty jet to the UK to return hundreds of missing luggage caught up in Britain’s travel mayhem.
Due to a luggage backlog at the west London transport hub, Delta Air Lines despatched the Airbus SE A330-200 to Heathrow Airport last night to retrieve the bags.
The bottleneck began earlier this month when a technical issue caused thousands of bags to pile up outside Terminal 2, leading some to refer to it as a “sea of luggage.”
‘Delta teams worked a creative solution to move delayed checked bags from London-Heathrow on July 11, after a regularly scheduled flight had to be cancelled due to airport passenger volume restrictions at Heathrow,’ the spokesperson for Delta continued.
‘Delta flight 9888 from Heathrow to Delta’s hub in Detroit flew 1,000 bags back to the US, where teams forwarded the bags to our customers,’ the airline stated.
Garry Wilson, CEO of EasyJet Holidays, easyJet’s holiday division, stated yesterday that the airline has done “all in its control” to prevent flight cancellations and ensure the robustness in its scheduling as the finger-pointing continued.
In an effort to avoid a repeat of the chaotic airport scenes seen over the Easter Holidays, the low-cost airline cancelled more than 4,000 flights in the three months leading up to the end of June.
We’ve done everything within our power to ensure system resilience, Mr. Wilson told the BBC.
There could be additional issues, such as infrastructure issues at airports or delays in air traffic control.
The disorderly scenes at airports have been attributed to travel agencies.
Following the relaxation of Covid restrictions earlier this year, airlines and airports have been accused of failing to adequately prepare for the resumption of foreign travel.
However, airlines and airports have retaliated by blaming the government, claiming that by refusing to extend the Covid furlough scheme for holiday corporations until all travel restrictions had been eased, the government forced businesses to undertake job losses.
Mr. Wilson denied the allegation that EasyJet had not made adequate preparations for the summer.
No, I believe we did all the appropriate actions given the knowledge we had at the time, he answered.
We increased our system resilience as soon as we became aware of the strain by booking flights.