As ITTN reported on Tuesday, London Heathrow has introduced a cap on passenger numbers for the remainder of the summer. The maximum amount of passengers is now 100,000 per day – a reduction of 4,000 per day.
Emirates said Heathrow gave it 36 hours to comply with the cuts, which the carrier said appeared to be a “figure plucked from thin air”.
“Their communications not only dictated the specific flights on which we should throw out paying passengers but also threatened legal action for non-compliance,” a spokesperson for Emirates said.
“At Heathrow, our ground handling and catering – run by dnata, part of the Emirates Group – are fully ready and capable of handling our flights. So the crux of the issue lies with the central services and systems which are the responsibility of the airport operator,” he added.
The airline has reinstated six daily A380 flights from Heathrow since October 2021, “so our operational requirements cannot be a surprise to the airport,” the spokesperson continued.
In response, a Heathrow spokesperson said a key issue contributing to delays was airline ground handling teams “which are currently only resourced up to 70% capacity to serve passenger demand which has returned to 80-85% of pre-pandemic levels”.
The Heathrow spokesperson added: “For months we have asked airlines to help come up with a plan to solve their resourcing challenges, but no clear plans were forthcoming and with each passing day the problem got worse. It would be disappointing if instead of working together, any airline would want to put profit ahead of a safe and reliable passenger journey.”
