- Heathrow Airport Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye has warned that a full recovery of air traffic could take five years
- Holland-Kaye also criticized the authority responsible for aviation safety in the UK for restricting an increase in what carriers are charged to use the airport
- Holland-Kaye noted that carriers at the airport took in a sound return, while adding that Heathrow is only operating at 45 percent, compared to two years ago
LONDON, England: Heathrow Airport Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye has warned that a full recovery of air traffic could take five years.
In an interview with the BBC, Holland-Kaye remarked that Heathrow airport continued to record losses, despite the relaxation of travel restrictions for foreign visitors.
Holland-Kaye also criticized the authority responsible for aviation safety in the UK for restricting an increase in what carriers are charged to use the airport.
Holland-Kaye noted that carriers at the airport took in a sound return, while adding that Heathrow is only operating at 45 percent, compared to two years ago.
“It has definitely been a tough 18 months, but we are starting to see the recovery coming through,” Holland-Kaye said, as reported by the BBC.
“Now all we need to see is stability in the travel rules, so people are confident of what we need to do and the airlines can build it into their systems.”
Heathrow has been criticized by the public due to long queues amid a surge in passenger numbers.
“We are hiring people right now to make sure that across the airport we can meet the demand that is starting to come through,” Holland-Kaye told the BBC.
“We are still at around 40 percent to 45 percent of the levels, even on the busiest days of where we were back in 2019,” Holland-Kaye said.
The airport has posted job openings for engineers and security personnel for maintenance tasks.
