Tuesday 21 December 2010

AIRPORT CHAOS

Everybody knows that there is bad weather in Europe at the moment. But why are some airports harder hit than others? Why, in particular, is Britain's Heathrow Airport hit worst of all? Hit, it certainly is. Thousands of stranded passengers are camping out in the terminals, desperate to get home for Christmas. But with a reduced timetable up to, and including, Christmas Eve, it is quite possible that many won't make it.

But I ask again, why is Heathrow hit worst? After all, it is not as if the U.K. is the coldest place in Europe, or has the most snow. Why don't we ever hear about Helsinki Airport closing or Stockholm? The last time Helsinki Airport had to close because of the weather was in 2003; and that was for just half an hour. Stockholm Airport has never closed because of snow.

I think that in the end, it all comes down to organisation and management. Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe, yet it has always been badly situated and badly run. Up until a couple of years ago, it was one of the few major airports in Europe with no direct overground rail access. Even now, with 66 million passengers in 2009, it still only has two runways; Helsinki, by contrast, has three, which means that two can remain open while the third is being cleared of snow, if necessary.

I am not at all underestimating how difficult it is to manage an airport which lies pretty much within one of the largest conurbations in the world. But it is not as if it is a new problem; and Governments of all political complexions have tried to address it. They just haven't done a very good job.

Walter Blotscher
Posted by Walter Blotscher at 19:26

5 comments:

  1. Michael22 December 2010 at 11:29

    It sounds that there is a view in Denmark that if Heathrow were to bring in Walter Blotscher for a managment session the whole thing could be sorted in time to be home for Danish apple slices.

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  2. Walter Blotscher23 December 2010 at 00:44

    Hi Michael,

    Yep, pretty much ....

    Regards,

    Walter

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  3. Michael23 December 2010 at 10:28

    But then Helsinki has three runways and Heathrow has only two, not enough for all that traffic and Stockholm has a lot less landings. But I guess another big problem is using the revenues to fund the debts the owners racked up buying the company. So probably more than an afternoons work.

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  4. Walter Blotscher23 December 2010 at 21:40

    Hi Michael,

    You can run Heathrow with only two runways, IF they are kept open all of the time. But that in turn requires a large investment in the equipment needed to keep them open. It is there that Heathrow has gone wrong, their snow clearing budget is simply too small.

    Regards,

    Walter

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  5. Michael24 December 2010 at 09:16

    The argument much blahed here by pretty much all organisations dealing with transport is that investment in snow clearing stuff does not pay because it does not snow often enough. Hard pressed councils may have a point but Heathrow does charge an awaful lots for the awful experience of going there.

    I am glad my travelling days are over. I travel by internet and TV. On Chritsmas night I shall be at the MCG.

    ReplyDelete

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