Just When They Thought Things Couldn't Get Any Worse...

London Heathrow International Airport has been a bit beleaguered of late. A camp of protestors waits outside its walls; it has long had a problem with mishandling luggage and flight delays; and with all its continuing air traffic congestion problems and larger jets being produced, it could probably use, among other things, another runway to remain competitive... but that's what the protesters are out there to protest.

So, imagine the headache that surely must have struck Heathrow management when Wednesday morning deteriorated into chaos and every single flight was late. A good 14 percent were delayed by more than an hour, according to the Evening Standard.

Called Black Wednesday, long- and short-haul flights were delayed by up to two and a half hours, the worst of which was a British Airways flight to Newcastle which took off two hours and 38 minutes late. The time it was late was longer that the actual flight time.

About four out of 10 tardy flights were by British Airways.

The carrier's internal figures indicates only 29 percent of its flights depart on time. About 60 percent of its flights leave within 15 minutes of scheduled departure time.

Airport operator BAA said the delays could be caused by any number of reasons.

"On this particular day, air traffic control chose to slow down planes around Heathrow because of high winds. However, it is very difficult to pinpoint the causes of delays as there are hundreds of reasons - from a passenger late in a terminal to overcrowding at the airport," said a spokesperson.

She stressed that none of the delays was caused by the protestors outside the airport participating in Camp for Climate Control. 

When the new Terminal 5 opens next year, it should help ease some of the airport congestion, but not necessarily runway congestion, she said. 

"Currently Heathrow operates to nearly 100 percent of its capacity. The possibility of a third runway will mean the option of more flights, not necessarily spreading them out between runways."

A reporter for the Evening Standard calculated that passengers waited a total of 2,434 years at Heathrow last year due to flight delays.

FMI: www.heathrowairport.com