Heathrow flights to be cut by 20% during Olympics
24.01.12
Restrictions on the number of flights it can handle will be imposed on Heathrow to ensure it can cope with the 500,000 international visitors expected during the London 2012 Olympics, the Times reports. Ministers concerned with the prospect of long delays and passenger complaints, commissioned a task force of experts to draw up plans and they have suggested a series of temporary rules that will be imposed on airports across the South East between July 21 and August 15.
Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport, will have the number of flights restricted in the first part of the plan. The airport will be allowed a maximum of 36 take-offs and landings an hour, compared with around 43 or 44 during peak hours in summer 2011. Normal scheduled services will continue to operate but unscheduled flights - private jets and charter flights, normally able to land at Heathrow - will be told to go to Stansted or other airports outside London. Even Barack Obama will not be able to land Air Force One at Heathrow during the ban (although he seems to prefer Stansted anyway).
A BAA spokesman said: ‘We will be the first and last impression people have of the Olympics and the UK, and we don’t want them sitting in a stack for an hour before landing.’ The company told airlines in a letter: ‘The purpose of the revised scheduling limit is to protect Heathrow from the risk of disruption as a result of the Games, either from the Games traffic or from other external factors.'
The restrictions are considered necessary because Heathrow normally operates at or near full capacity, and is therefore unable to cope with even minor disruptions without this affecting passengers. It is hoped that by limiting Heathrow's take-offs and landings there will be enough slack to ensure all passengers have a quick transit through the airport.
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