Emirates on Thursday released a statement saying it is rejecting Heathrow Airport’s demands to comply with capacity cuts as a result of a staffing shortage at the London airport. “Their communications not only dictated the specific flights on which we should throw out paying passengers, but also threatened legal action for non-compliance,” the airline said.
A staffing shortage at Heathrow, according to CNN, has caused the airport to cap the number of passengers to 100,000 per day per airline. Beyond the cancelations, its caused travelers stress in the number of delayed flights, as well as the lost baggage. Delta Air Lines this week flew 1,000 lost bags from London to its hub in Detroit. No passengers were on board as the originally scheduled flight was canceled due to the passenger volume restriction. From Detroit, the bags were then forwarded to the airline’s customers.
Emirates said that airlines such as itself shouldn’t be penalized for issues at fault of the airport. “At London Heathrow airport (LHR), our ground handling and catering – run by dnata, part of the Emirates Group - are fully ready and capable of handling our flights,” it said in its statement. “So, the crux of the issue lies with the central services and systems which are the responsibility of the airport operator.”
The airline continued: “Now, with blatant disregard for consumers, they wish to force Emirates to deny seats to tens of thousands of travelers who have paid for, and booked months ahead, their long-awaited package holidays or trips to see their loved ones. And this, during the super peak period with the upcoming U.K. holidays, and at a time when many people are desperate to travel after two years of pandemic restrictions.
“Emirates believes in doing the right thing by our customers. However, re-booking the sheer numbers of potentially impacted passengers is impossible with all flights running full for the next weeks, including at other London airports and on other airlines. Adding to the complexity, 70 percent of our customers from LHR are headed beyond Dubai to see loved ones in far flung destinations, and it will be impossible to find them new onward connections at short notice.”
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