In July, Heathrow airport reacted to the chaos in the aviation industry and introduced a passenger limit – up to 100,000. daily. It also obliged airlines not to sell tickets above this limit. The restriction was originally announced to be effective until September 11th. On August 15, it was announced that the airport was extending the decision on the applicable limit until October 29.
Airport authorities take the floor
Authorities the airport Heathrow noted that the introduction of the cap had a positive effect. The number of dismissals has decreased flights, planes take off on time and passengers wait shorter for their luggage. The announcement emphasized that if the employment level rises sufficiently so that passenger accommodation is carried out smoothly, it will be possible to lift the limit earlier.
“Our main concern is to provide our passengers with reliable services while traveling” – Business Standard said Ross Barker, Heathrow’s commercial director. “We want to end the limits as soon as possible, but we can only do so if we are sure that all the companies operating at the airport have the resources to provide the services our passengers deserve,” he said.
The decision is unhappy
Not everyone likes the decision of the airport authorities. “We are disappointed that Heathrow has already decided to extend its passenger capacity cap until the end of October as additional online resources are added every week and the airport’s service quality is improving,” said a Virgin Atlantic spokesman.
There is a chance that the cap will be lifted earlier than late October as Heathrow points out that “there is a clear improvement in resource levels and the airport continues to experience sustained operational improvements.”
“Sweet Crisis”
Airport decision London-Heathrow about the introduction of daily limits and limiting the sale of tickets from the beginning aroused a lot of emotions. – This is a ridiculous statement that the airport can give to airlines so that they stop selling tickets – quotes Piotr Bożyk, the director general of IATA, Willie Walsh, in an interview with Podróże Gazeta.pl.
In turn, Tomasz Śniedziewski in an interview with us quoted another statement by the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). – Walsh talks about “sweet crisis.” The COVID pandemic brought about the biggest crisis in the history of aviation. The interest of passengers in avalanche flying is very good news for airlines. While there are operational problems now, this is a temporary situation that should normalize.
On the other hand, Eryk Kłopotowski talks about the defeat of the harvest. – On the one hand, it is fantastic information for the entire industry that people want to fly and go back to flying, but the lack of preparation and readiness to serve them can build large reluctance to fly. 10 thousand luggage left at Heathrow airport means 10,000. dissatisfied people. The question is whether they will want to fly somewhere in the future, or will they travel locally, he wonders.
Eryk Kłopotowski advises that now it is best to fly only with hand luggage. – If we have a transfer somewhere, we should try to arrange the time between them at least a few hours, so that we have time to go through passport control or transfer luggage. I also suggest taking a lot of peace with you – he adds. – Often frustrated people tend to find someone at the airport and spill all their anger at them. This person is not able to provide us with a new, bigger or new plane, nor to speed up the departure time. Let us bear in mind that these people must be treated with respect.
Millions of people lost their jobs during the pandemic
According to recent data from the ATAG group (Air Transport Action Group, Air Transport Action Group), aviation lost 2.3 million jobs worldwide during the pandemic, with groundhandling and safety suffering the most. People lost their jobs, aviation earned money.
Source: Business Standard