While massive disruptions at congested airports cause a great deal of inconvenience to passengers and increase travel costs, there are organisations within and outside the industry that benefit from disrupted operations. Among them are airport operators, ATC, and others whose culture of short-term profit gains is driven by increase in number of passengers and aircraft movements, and length of passenger time spent in airport retail areas. They typically bear no responsibility for disruptions despite their involvement in creation of operational clutter.
Another group of companies that benefits from disruptions includes airport retailers, insurance companies, hotels, ground handlers, ground transport companies, aircraft lessors and aircraft manufacturers.
Add to this list airline, airport and industry decision makers and other experts that may have stayed on board thanks to the obscurity of disruption related information, and we have a good reason to suspect that ‘Heathrow style’ problems at overcrowded hub airports will be resolved any time soon.
