Heathrow branded ‘big problem’ by IATA
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Heathrow Airport, one of Europe’s busiest hubs, has been accused of being too expensive and overcrowded by senior aviation executives.
The comments, which were made by the director general of the International Air Transport Association Tony Tyler, came at a public address made at the World Air Transport Summit in South Africa.
Tyler said that Heathrow “drives me mad with frustration” and abuses its “monopoly” position, according to British newspaper The Guardian.
London’s main airport has been pushing for a 40% increase in landing charges which could seriously affect airfares. In April the Civil Aviation Authority ruled that rises would be kept below inflation until 2019.
Tyler said the cap on charges was “weak medicine for a major illness” and was also critical of Heathrow’s response.
“In a way only possible for a monopoly, it is threatening to cut capital expenditure to the detriment of service levels and operational resilience instead of getting serious about efficiencies,” he said.
Tyler’s sentiments were echoed by the bosses of Qantas and American Airways, the firm on the verge of becoming the biggest airline in the world.
Comments are closed.