Heathrow airport, UK’s busiest airport, has been cancelling several flights due to its ongoing staff crisis. This has brought the spotlight back on the legendary airport.
Recently, the airport cancelled thousands of flights which upset the passengers. Some passengers got to know about the cancellations only after they reached the airport.
One of the affected passengers, Andrew Douglas, said that he was supposed to be on the flight but instead he has been spending the last four hours in multiple queues at the Heathrow airport.
In order to look after this issue, the Transport secretary, Grant Shapps has stated that the government was backing aviation. However, it is about time that the airlines and airports sort out the issues.
The labour market has accused Shapps of being ‘MIA’ during the months of commotion which was recently seen at Easter. Flights like EasyJet and British Airways proactively cancelled thousands of flights to avoid last-minute cancellations.
Shapps stated that the Aviation Minister has established a weekly Strategic Risk Group which will bring together all the CEOs of airports, airlines as well as ground handlers to work through all the issues which they are facing currently.
Issues people are facing at the Heathrow airport
The majority of the cancelled flights were of the British Airways services which are yet to recruit the required minimum of 1,000 staff for this summer.
Many people were not able to locate their luggage for weeks and are facing trouble in the baggage system due to a lack of customer service.
What is the solution to this problem?
In order to tackle this problem, Grant Shapps has come up with a 22-point plan to support the aviation industry.
In the plan, the government will help in recruiting as well as training staff, ensuring delivery of a realistic summer schedule, reducing the disruption, supporting the passengers whenever there is a delay and the list goes on.