Qantas: 11-hour wait for A380 passengers due to Heathrow fatigue

Heathrow is one of the airports hardest hit by the chaos of summer flights. One of the measures to reduce waiting times, delays and also cancellations is Reducing the number of accepted passengers. Last week, London Airport told airlines they had to limit their ticket sales.

This was already causing some tension. Emirates Airlines did not back down, describing the situation at Heathrow Airport as catastrophic. The airport has decided “not to move, not to plan, not to invest. Now that they have faced Airmageddon for their incompetence and inaction, they are shifting the entire burden—the cost and effort of cleaning up the mess—on airlines and travelers.”

Departing Qantas moved forward

After the airline initially refused to set a sales cap, It is now agreed. However, Emirates President Tim Clark remains furious. “We are still fighting some of the brutal measures they insist on and I don’t want it to get any uglier than it already is,” Clark said at an event at the Farnborough Air Show.

Things are getting ugly for Qantas travelers, too. The airline complied with London Heathrow’s demands. The airline decided to reschedule two flights from the UK airport this week. Flight QF2 on the London-Singapore-Sydney route departed nine hours earlier than usual at 12 noon on Tuesday (July 19). It also used Terminal 4 instead of Terminal 3. This was to avoid the rush at peak times.

Eleven hours in Singapore

For passengers on the Airbus A380, this means an 11-hour stay in Singapore – and additional costs for the airline. Because Qantas provided passengers with accommodation. A previous flight from the city-state was not an option.

“Like all airlines, we are disappointed with Heathrow’s decision to suddenly reduce passenger capacity and are doing everything we can to minimize the impact on our customers,” a Qantas spokesperson told Executive Traveler.

The flight left for Perth later

“We have been able to negotiate a solution that, while not ideal, will put our customers where they want to go. We continue to work with Heathrow to improve this situation.” Sunday’s flight QF10 from London to Perth took off three hours later due to airport instructions.

Another airline has taken advantage of the embarrassing situation at London Heathrow Airport. Last week, Delta Air Lines sent a plane that cannot carry passengers due to limited capacity to the United States, with only bags on board. The luggage had previously been left at Heathrow because there were no staff in the area.