Hands off airline timetables, says BAR UK
The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR UK), which represents 86 airlines, has slammed proposals to impose emergency timetables on airlines as a means to handle extreme weather or exceptional situations. The idea was aired by BAA’s CEO Colin Matthews at last week’s hearing of the Transport Select Committee, and the concept was referred to again by Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond, during his address to the same Committee on Monday. Mike Carrivick, chief executive of BAR UK, said: "The idea to impose emergency airline timetables appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to take the heat off the airport operator during the enquiry into the December snow crisis and has not even been discussed with the airlines." He added that while airlines heeded the advice given out by the airport, facts and timings kept changing. An emergency timetable would not have worked, since the airport operator had no idea what would open and when. In which case, why should the airport operator be in a position to dictate schedules to individual airlines when it can’t get its own act together? BAR UK recognises that capacity is always restricted during extreme events. However, only the airlines are fully aware of the required information to make the most effective scheduling decisions, such as aircraft and crew availability and load capacity. The airport must provide airlines with accurate information. "It would be very perverse if the airport operator, responsible for the mismanaged airport closures in December, was arbiter of who could or could not fly," said Carrivick. "Let’s keep to the established system of the airlines setting the timetables and the airport operators efficiently managing operations." Quelle: eyefortransport |