The largest aviation hub in the UK is currently beset by travel chaos.
After imposing a cap on the number of passengers that can leave the airport in order to cut down on delays, the airport made a demand to airlines to stop selling tickets.
One of the largest long-haul carriers in the world is refusing to comply and accusing its management of blatant disregard for customers.
It seems determined to continue its flights despite the threat of legal action.
It is regrettable that LHR gave us 36 hours to comply with capacity cuts of a figure that appears to be plucked from thin air.
The specific flights on which we should throw out paying passengers were dictated by their communication. We reject these demands because they're completely unreasonable.
International passengers walk through the arrivals area at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport on November 26, 2021 in London, England.The ground handling and Catering staff at London Heathrow, which is run by its subsidiary dnata, are fully ready and capable of handling our flights, according to the company. The crux of the issue is with the central services and systems which are the responsibility of the airport operator.
It is one of the busiest routes in the world, with six flights per day since October 2021.
With blatant disregard for consumers, they wish to force Emirates to deny seats to tens of thousands of travellers who have paid for and booked months ahead, their long-awaited package holidays or trips to see their loved ones.
At a time when many people are desperate to travel after 2 years of Pandemic restrictions, this is during the busiest time of the year.
It will be impossible to find new onward connections for 70% of the customers that fly from Heathrow, according to the airline.
The airline plans to operate as usual until further notice.
The aviation network continues to suffer from Covid-related challenges and a key issue is "airline ground handling teams which are currently only resourced up to 70% capacity to serve passenger demand."
For months we have asked airlines to come up with a plan to solve their resourcing challenges but no clear plans were forthcoming and the problem got worse.
We had no choice but to impose a capacity cap to keep everyone safe and to give passengers a better, more reliable journey.
Suitcases are seen uncollected at Heathrow’s Terminal Three baggage reclaim. The U.K.’s biggest airport has told airlines to stop selling summer tickets.Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, which was ranked the busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, has a cap of 64,000 departing passengers.
The average daily passenger count for departing and arriving passengers at the airport is about the same. After New York, it is the second most popular destination.
The statement said that it would be disappointing if any airline wanted to put profit ahead of safety.
Major flying hubs and airlines are getting heat for failing to plan and prepare for the resurgence in travel demand, two years after the Covid-19 Pandemic caused a tidal wave of layoffs.
Travelers have described chaos at airports in North America and Europe, with scores of flights canceled or delayed. Airlines and airports are facing a surge of summer passengers as a result of labor shortages from the Pandemic.
After two years of decreased activity, the system isrusty, and it will take some time to get operations up and running again, according to air industry executives.
Customers and airlines are still frustrated by the loss of money and flights.
The airline said that LHR chose not to act, not to plan, and not to invest. They are pushing the entire burden of costs and the scramble to sort the mess to airlines and travellers because of their incompetence.
The decision of the LHR management team should be scrutinized by the shareholders.
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