Heathrow given UK government ultimatum to fix travel chaos after Emirates row

Airline rejected order to reduce number of flights from west London airport

An Emirates Airbus A380 plane taking off from Heathrow Airport in West London. Emirates has rejected an order from Heathrow to cancel flights to comply with a cap on passenger numbers. PA

The chief executive of Heathrow has been issued an ultimatum by the UK government to provide a plan to fix the airport's staffing problems, which have disrupted the travel plans of thousands of passengers and led to a row with Emirates.

John Holland-Kaye has until midday UK time on Friday to deliver his assessment of why the airport determined that a cap of 100,000 daily departing passengers “provides a safe and resilient airport with a positive passenger experience”.

This week, the airport introduced the limit, saying it could not safely cope with more passengers and was trying to fix the chaos which has marred operations in recent months.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled, passengers have faced hours of queues to check in and make it through security, with thousands more unable to be reunited with their luggage. Adding to Heathrow's problems, overrunning maintenance works meant the northernmost of the airport's two runways was closed when traffic resumed on Friday.

Heathrow passengers run the gauntlet of airport chaos

On Tuesday, Heathrow went as far as appealing to airlines to stop selling summer tickets as it imposed the cap, which will remain until September 11.

The west London airport ordered airlines to slim down their schedules but Emirates refused. A strongly worded statement accused the airport of a "cavalier" attitude towards passengers.

Virgin Atlantic also criticised the airport’s actions and claimed it was responsible for failures which are contributing to the chaos.

A British Airways spokesman said the cap is “incredibly disappointing” as it has already taken “responsible action to reduce our summer schedule”.

The Department for Transport’s director general for aviation Dr Rannia Leontaridi and Civil Aviation Authority chief executive Richard Moriarty have written a joint letter to Mr Holland-Kaye.

The letter, seen by PA, said: “We need you to develop a credible and resilient capacity recovery plan for the next six months, that provides comfort that Heathrow can operate reliably at a stable level of capacity.

Travellers to the UK this summer should brace themselves for disruptions and changes to flight schedules. Reuters

Officials at Heathrow Airport have announced a cap on flights over the summer. Photo: Jonathon Heyward / Twitter

The cap on flights is aimed at cutting huge queues. AP

Airlines were told to stop selling tickets to the west London airport. AP

Uncollected suitcases pile up at Heathrow's Terminal Three baggage reclaim, as British Airways axed another 10,300 short-haul flights up to the end of October. AFP

Lines of passenger luggage lie arranged outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport. Reuters

“Heathrow and the airlines that use your airport must be assured, and be able to assure us, that you have in place a plan that can deliver a positive passenger experience through allowing as many people as possible to travel, without too much disruption and queues, and in particular to avoid significant numbers of short-notice and on-the-day cancellations.

“The Government and the CAA are concerned that current resourcing plans are not delivering this outcome.”

In its statement on Thursday, Emirates accused Heathrow bosses of showing "blatant disregard for consumers" by attempting to force it to "deny seats to tens of thousands of travellers".

It said Heathrow's demands were "unreasonable and unacceptable" and described the airport management as being "cavalier about travellers and airline customers".

While Emirates had planned ahead for the reopening of the skies, Heathrow "chose not to act, not to plan, not to invest. Now faced with an 'airmageddon' situation due to their incompetence and non-action, they are pushing the entire burden ― of costs and the scramble to sort the mess ― to airlines and travellers".

Emirates, which operates six daily return flights between the airport and Dubai, continued: "LHR [London Heathrow] last evening gave us 36 hours to comply with capacity cuts, of a figure that appears to be plucked from thin air.

"Their communications not only dictated the specific flights on which we should throw out paying passengers, but also threatened legal action for non-compliance.

"This is entirely unreasonable and unacceptable and we reject these demands."

Emirates said it would continue business as usual to and from Heathrow, "until further notice".

The airline said 70 per cent of its passengers from Heathrow were booked to travel on connecting flights from Dubai, highlighting the effect the rejected cuts would have on its own operations. It also pointed out the order was being made "during the super peak period with the upcoming UK holidays, and at a time when many people are desperate to travel after two years of pandemic restrictions".

Decades of flight: Heathrow through the years - in pictures

Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images

An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919

Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946

The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955

The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955

US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956

An aerial view showing the runways in 1958

The arrivals and departures board in 1960

A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961

The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965

The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965

Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966

Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969

An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970

Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971

Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973

Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976

Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977

Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977

An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978

Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979

Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981

British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984

Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997

Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal

Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003

Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003

Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004

Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period

Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police

Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007

The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008

Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016

Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century

A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images

Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold

An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020

British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021

Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022

In response, a Heathrow spokeswoman said aviation is “a complex network” and “no one can operate in isolation”.

She explained that staffing for ground-handling teams at the airport are only at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, whereas passenger numbers are at 80-85 per cent.

She said: “For months we have asked airlines to help come up with a plan to solve their resourcing challenges, but no clear plans were forthcoming and with each passing day the problem got worse.

“We had no choice but to take the difficult decision to impose a capacity cap designed to give passengers a better, more reliable journey and to keep everyone working at the airport safe.”

She noted the cap is “significantly higher” than the 64,000 imposed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

“It would be disappointing if instead of working together, any airline would want to put profit ahead a safe and reliable passenger journey,” she said.

In December last year, Heathrow said it expected passenger numbers for 2022 to reach around 45 million.

It subsequently raised its forecast to “nearly 53 million” in May, and 54.4 million for last month.

Terminal 4 reopened on June 14, three months after the UK lifted all remaining coronavirus travel restrictions.

It was the last terminal at any major European airport to resume operations during the pandemic.

Virgin Atlantic chief customer and operating officer Corneel Koster said “everybody should have got ready for this increased demand”.

He told the PA news agency: “If you’re around the table and the Heathrow voice says ‘it won’t happen, it will come later, I will only open my fourth terminal in June’, that’s a planning mistake.

“They have downplayed demand. They should have opened T4 earlier.

“They should have played an even stronger role in the community.”