You are here: Home / News / A call to invest in airports to reduce passengers misery
Heathrow Airport has come under criticism in many areas over the first half of 2007. Security delays, baggage problems, queues left, right and centre all make a passenger's experience of the airport a misery according to a recent Times newspaper article. Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports, but is in dire need of investment to bring it up to date. BAA, owner of Heathrow, will start to increase capacity in 2008 when the long awaited Terminal 5 opens - but demand is likely to exceed that additional capacity with no short term solutions in place. One option is to extend or expand other London airports. Ideas have been put forward to replace Heathrow's Terminal 2 and have an additional terminal; to rebuild Gatwick Airport and add a second runway; Stansted airport to had a new runway and an additional terminal. British bureacracy or political weakness often delays airport development - with Heathrow's Terminal 5 originally planned to open in 2002 - when infact work only started in 2002. Recent security restrictions imposed by the government have resulted in additional checks and restrictions being put in place - without airport operators investing in proportionally more security equipment or staff. The result is that passengers start their holiday or trip stuck in queues in hot conditions with tempers regulary lost. So please, please please, can airport operators invest more in their airports - which will make passengers happier, and you never know, they'll probably come back sooner for another trip!