Doha – Al Sharq website
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said London Heathrow should have better anticipated the jet lag crisis this summer, and given airlines more advance notice of the need to reduce flight schedules.
This came as a comment from Al Baker to Bloomberg TV about what Western media described as the “chaos” taking place at London Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, during the past few days, as the airport could not accommodate the huge numbers of travelers, and travelers were surprised by long queues. And problems in receiving thousands of bags, which prompted some airlines to cancel dozens of flights, some without informing passengers.
Heathrow announced a maximum number of passengers allowed to fly from the airport, and called on airlines to stop selling more tickets during the current summer season.
In the interview, which took place at the Farnborough International Air Show, Al Baker said he understood the staffing problems facing the international airport but was “disappointed” by his lack of foresight.
“Heathrow has the right to restrict your flight because they cannot overload their facilities, but my question to management is that they should have seen that coming and they should have taken measures to mitigate this crisis,” Al Baker added.
And according to Bloomberg, Heathrow decided last week to impose a two-month cap on daily passenger traffic to contain the travel chaos caused by staff shortages in key areas such as ground handling.
The move angered airlines, which were forced to cancel flights at the height of the summer season.
Al Baker said it was best to tell airlines about the restrictions three months in advance as passengers usually book in March for travel through July, so stopping flights just weeks in advance “has cost implications”.
** Dispute with Airbus
Regarding the ongoing legal dispute with Airbus over the deterioration of the exterior surfaces on some of its A350 wide-body aircraft, Al Baker said he was still open to a settlement but did not see a proposal to fix the problem that would be acceptable to both Qatar Airways and the Qatar Aviation Authority.
The CEO reiterated that Airbus “unlawfully” withdrew from a separate contract to supply the A321neos, and said he was awaiting the court’s final ruling, which Qatar Airways would comply with.
