Over-stretched Heathrow should reduce flights to end delays, demands scathing report

Cutting the number of flights could have a dramatic impact on the pig’s ear of delays, queues and cancellations at the airport, claimed the study by business group London First.

‘The costs to passengers of losing the flight, particularly at peak, would also need to be weighed against the benefit of greater certainty that flights will take off and arrive on time,’ it said.

'Heathrow has been turned from a silk purse to a sow's ear': latest report

‘Nevertheless, this intervention could have a dramatic impact on flight delays.’

Heathrow currently runs at 99 per cent of its official capacity, carrying 218 million passengers.

A reduction to 94 per cent would cut delays by 15 per cent, said the study. In the long term, a third runway would raise capacity.

In the short term there should either be fewer flights or a higher capacity by using ‘mixed mode’ take offs and landings in each direction on the two runways.

The report castigated long delays, queues, poor service and shabby, substandard facilities.

It blamed the Civil Aviation Authority for allowing outdated regulations to act as ‘warped incentives’ towards overcrowding and against efficiency and better customer care.

The findings were presented to Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly today.

London First said Heathrow was so bad that the capital’s future as a global business centre was at risk.

‘London needs Heathrow to be world class. It isn’t,’ said the report.

'The poor quality of the passenger experience at Heathrow poses a substantial threat to the sustainability of and the UK, as a fulcrum of the global economy.’

It follows years of growing criticism of ‘Heathrow hassle’ and frustration that improvements have not been delivered.

Today’s report uniquely analysed how red tape governing the airport affected the way it is run - and concluded that many problems could be tackled simply by abolishing
amending regulations.

Some regulations even made the situation-worse.

They encouraged the maximum number of flights to be squeezed into the schedules, with the result that any disruption turned into chaos.

With the airport at 99 per cent full capacity, anything from a technical fault to bad weather had ‘ severeknock on effects’.

In another example, price controls meant operators were rewarded for new facilities but lost money on repair and maintenance.

The result was that new buildings soon turned shabby.

London First chief executive Baroness Jo Valentine said: ‘Heathrow has been turned from a silk purse to a sow’s ear.’