Neither airlines nor BAA are right in what they see as a means to handle extreme weather or exceptional situations. The problems are relational and they cannot be resolved independently.
The way that the BAA inquiry into the December snow crisis at Heathtow is organised may be politically correct, but will just prolong the agony of the UK’s major airport.
On the other side, Heathrow operators must face their responsibility for this crisis. They kept building and maintaining the volume of traffic at the world’s most congested airport knowing very well that it has no space to handle even the smallest delay without causing a long and widespread waves of disruptions.
The question remains why the government didn’t take the initiative to coordinate this action, instead of thinking about new punitive measures that will take at least a couple of years to implement and may create even more problems – just like the EU regulation on passenger protection. Too much time and money wasted on all sides.
