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Chaos at Heathrow
Posted by Mark 25 August 2007
I have already decided I will avoid flying if at all possible, and using Heathrow at all costs. I have tried it recently and it is an awful experience.
My first and greatest fear is losing my luggage. British Airways is flying towards the inglorious record of losing one million bags in a year. I used to pack my laptop in my checked bag, but since I rely on it for my livelihood that just doesn't seem a risk worth taking. But to be fair to British Airways, who generally do not deserve being fair to, losing baggage is less their fault and more the fault of the airport operator who provide the staff and facilities. Or rather, the lack of them.
Lack of staff and facilities is most evident at security, which can take more than an hour to pass through. There really is no justification for this. Since 9/11 the operator has known what measures need to be put in place, and those measures have become more demanding since then. But in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 everyone was understanding and tolerant of the delays and inconvenience these caused. And the operator thought, "Oh, this is good, people are like sheep and we can ignore their needs." Wrong. They have consistently failed to invest in providing proper facilities for travellers. It is a measure of how bad the situation is when you turn up at the airport two hours before your flight, as you are advised to do, and you almost miss it because of the delays.
Heathrow could lose out in a big way once the travelling public realises there are other ways of getting in and out of the country, and once the world's airlines realise they can route their flights around the world without passing through Heathrow. Once that realisation dawns, it is the end for Heathrow. And there is simply no time left to build those new facilities before that happens, the new terminal will not be open until early next year and by then it will be too late.
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