Business group moots cutting 5,000 flights a year at Heathrow to ease congestion

A business group has recommended that the British Aviation Authority (BAA), the owner of London’s Heathrow airport, scrap about 5,000 flights a year in order to relieve congestion. London First, the lobby group for businesses in London, said action should be taken immediately to stop delays at Heathrow Airport, the biggest flight hub in the United Kingdom, since a proposed third runway is unlikely to be ready till 2020.

The group has suggested that the British Aviation Authority could cut delays at Heathrow Airport reducing 1% of flights, which is equivalent to 4,800 arrivals and departures.

Baroness Valentine, chief executive of London First, was quoted by the website guardian.co.uk as saying: “Heathrow has been turned from a silk purse to a sow’s ear. While proposals for Runway 3 will undeniably address capacity issues in the long term, we need a better Heathrow now.”

In a report on ‘poor service standards at Heathrow,’ London First also recommended delegating responsibility for monitoring security queues, currently shared by the British Aviation Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority, to a single organisation. Also, revenue from landing fees should be docked if passengers receive poor service.

In the report, London First remarked that the regulatory framework, which is overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority and sets landing fees, was “geared to cramming in extra flights and passengers.”

Heathrow Airport at present runs at 99% of its official capacity, carrying 218 million passengers. A reduction to 94% would cut delays by 15%, the study by London First said, adding that a third runway would raise capacity.

Ruth Kelly, Britain’s Secretary for Transport, the website guardian.co.uk said, is expected to support the London First’s report when it is launched.

However, Colin Matthews, chief executive of the British Aviation Authority, is expected to reject the report. He is likely to argue that building new and improved terminals without new runway capacity will not reduce delays.

At BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Colin Matthews stressed the importance of expanding Heathrow Airport to maintain its status as Britain’s and London’s direct link to the rest of the world. He explained: “We do need the new capacity at Heathrow today in order to maintain its role, the way London and the country connects to the rest of the world. If we don’t have transfer traffic, we can’t fulfill that role.”

The media had reported the British government as claiming that it is “making lives of passengers easier in the short term by lifting restrictions on hand luggage (only one bag per passenger until recently) and backing plans for a third runway.”

The government has also ordered a review of airport regulation, leading to speculation that the Civil Aviation Authority will be revamped considerably.

Official figures show that 4 out of 10 Heathrow flights are delayed because the existing 2 runways operate at 99% of capacity, with the effect that even a minor security scare or freak weather can do much damage to operations.

In the latest disruption, about two weeks ago, 69 flights were cancelled when United States President George W Bush flew in, forcing the closure of one runway and a temporary block on all departures.