No Crap, Columbo

The Christmas travel plans of tens of thousands of Heathrow passengers were thrown into disarray because the airport was ill-prepared to cope with heavy snow, a report has found.  It was fiercely critical of how both Heathrow and airlines responded to the crisis when they were confronted by some of the heaviest snow in a century.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled when Heathrow was wholly or partially shut between 18th and 23rd December, at the height of the Christmas rush, which was the second time in a month that heavy snow hit the airport.  But Heathrow failed to learn the lessons according to the report, which was commissioned by BAA, the airport operator.  The report noted:

“The potential impact of the weather forecast was not fully anticipated in the days preceding the event.  This led to a low state of preparedness ahead of the snow and insufficient stock of critical supplies.”

This not only prevented planes from leaving, but prevented others from landing because there was nowhere for them to park. 

• There were failures in communication and co-ordination within BAA, and between BAA and airlines.  
• Confused and conflicting messages caused incorrect signals to go to airlines, to passengers, and from airlines to passengers.  
• It led to terminals being packed with people turning up for flights which were not operating, while others stayed at home when their planes took off.  
• In addition some airlines were accused of failing to provide the help to stranded passengers as required under EU consumer protection law. 

From TTel