Saturday 2 July 2022 04:27 PM Fresh chaos at Heathrow as fuel glitch means flights are GROUNDED amid summer ... trends now
Thousands of travellers heading through Heathrow were left to endure the latest scenes of chaos hitting Britain's beleaguered airports after flights were delayed due to a fuelling issue.
A 'technical fault' with the airport's Jet A-1 fuel system meant dozens of planes were unable to leave the tarmac for over an hour at the UK's busiest travel hub on Saturday.
The malfunction meant thousands of holidaymakers were left in the lurch at departure gates or on board their flights, and is the latest in a long line of mishaps to hit Britain's airports this year.
Dozens of frustrated passengers took to Twitter to vent their disappointment with the latest cruel blow to their holiday plans, while others fumed that they would miss transfers and connecting flights owing to the error.
The delay hits passengers just days before the UK's summer holiday season is expected to ramp up, with millions of passengers bracing for disruption as travel bosses tell airlines to cancel more flights while aviation experts have shared fears over an extended 'Airmageddon' period.
And there is set to be even more disruption later this month with hundreds of British Airways check-in staff expected to go on strike in a dispute of pay, although a date has not been set for this.
It comes after months of travel chaos at British airports, with travel hubs struggling to cope with the number of passengers trying to travel abroad after Covid restrictions were eased.
There have been repeated complaints about long queues for security at airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester, while a shortage of baggage handlers has led to long delays in people collecting their luggage.
Heathrow Airport is expected to announce more flight cancellations next week as it rejigs its schedule. Pictured are passengers queuing at Terminal 2 at the airport on Friday
British Airways is expected to bear the brunt of the cancellations when they are announced. Pictured is a British Airways plane at Heathrow
Hundreds of bags of luggage arranged outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport. A shortage of baggage workers has seen huge delays in some people receiving their luggage
Dozens of frustrated passengers took to Twitter to vent their disappointment with the latest cruel blow to their holiday plans, while others fumed that they would miss transfers and connecting flights owing to the error
Saturday's chaos comes as tens of thousands of travellers going through the UK's busiest airport could have their holiday plans disrupted next week as bosses prepare to tell airlines to cancel more flights.
Heathrow Airport is set to tell airlines they will have to move or cancel flights next week, just days after it cancelled 30 services at short notice to the fury of passengers, many of whom found out only after reaching the airport.
The cancellations came after bosses at the airport told airlines that staff in the terminals could not cope with the number of travellers who were expected during the morning peak.
And a further wave of cancellations is set to be announced by Friday, July 8, just as some schools break up for the summer holidays.
And there is set to be even more disruption later this month with hundreds of British Airways check-in staff expected to go on strike in a dispute of pay, although a date has not been set for this.
It is expected that BA, which uses Terminal 5 at Heathrow as its hub and has more than 9,000 scheduled flights from the airport in July, will be the most affected airline by the upcoming cancellations, the Telegraph reports.
The paper reports the cancellations are being caused by an amnesty on take-off and landing slots.
Airlines pay millions of pounds for these time slots and often run flights half empty to ensure they meet targets for the minimum number of flights in the slot - if they do not do this, they have to give it back.
The amnesty, which was announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) earlier this week, allows carriers to hand them back if they are not confident they can operate the service for the rest of the summer season, while retaining the slot for next year.
This is was a bid to ensure cancellations, like those seen on Thursday at Heathrow and earlier in the year during the Easter and half-term holidays, do not happen at the last minute and give passengers time to rebook.
A spokesperson for British Airways told the PA news agency that the slot amnesty and consequent cancellations will 'help us to provide the certainty our customers deserve by making it easier to consolidate some of our quieter daily flights to multi-frequency destinations well in advance'.
They said that the airline 'welcomes these new measures', adding: 'Slot alleviation allows airlines to temporarily reduce their schedules but still retain their slots for the next year to maintain networks and provide consumers with certainty and consistency.
'Allocating slots according to the (World Airport Slots Guide system) means airlines can offer the consistent services and efficient connections that consumers are looking for and protect jobs and create growth in the UK.'
A Heathrow spokesman said: 'We encourage airlines to take this opportunity to reconsider their summer schedules without penalty and inform passengers as early as possible of any changes.'
On Thursday thousands of passengers at Heathrow were left furious as their flights were cancelled or delayed at the last minute.
In a rare 'schedule intervention', the airport told its 20 biggest carriers they would have to move 30 flights from the morning peak.
Passengers at Heathrow arrived at the airport on Thursday to find travel misery as flights were cancelled overnight. Pictured are two passengers waiting with their luggage at Terminal 5
A group of travellers sits down in Terminal 5 while waiting for their flight. At least 5,000 passengers woke up on Thursday to find their flights cancelled or delayed
It was a move that meant at least 5,000 travellers woke up to find their flights affected or even cancelled, with the airport saying it would not be able to cope with the high number of passengers in its terminals.
People at the airport took to social media to vent at what they saw as poor service at the London travel hub.
'Total chaos at Heathrow this morning,' one tweeted, 'BA flights cancelled and zero customer service!'
