Airline ticket prices WILL go up and customers will face increased costs former BA chief Willie Walsh says as he expresses ‘surprise’ airline hasn’t yet announced which summer flights it is set to axe
- Former BA boss says ticket prices will go up ‘without a doubt’ in blow to families
- Perfect storm of pandemic recovery and war in Ukraine squeezing price of fuel
- Residents near Heathrow say they are wakened overnight by low-flying planes
- It comes as the airport scrambles to ease disruption during a difficult summer
- Executives at British Airwaves are cutting hundreds of flights to ease disruption
- A former chief executive said he was ‘surprised’ BA hadn’t announced the flights
The price of an airline ticket will go up ‘without a doubt’ as inflation pushes up fuel costs, an air industry boss has warned.
These increased costs will be passed on to the customer, said Willie Walsh, ex British Airways chief and director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Oil prices have jumped lately with the war in Ukraine disrupting supplies while simultaneously the global economic recovery from the Covid pandemic boosts demand.
‘Flying will be more expensive for consumers, without doubt’, he said on the BBC Sunday Morning programme, adding that the ‘high price of oil’ will be ‘reflected in higher ticket prices’.
The higher costs that families looking to book getaways will incur comes on top of the raft of delays and cancellations that they have had to endure so far in a chaotic summer for the airline industry.
And the cancellations have seen competition for what flights remain increase, working to squeeze prices even further.
Willie Walsh on Sunday Morning said that the price of an airline ticket will go up ‘without a doubt’ as inflation pushes up fuel costs
Residents living under Heathrow’s flight paths are being kept awake until after midnight by an increase in late running night flights due to disruption across the aviation sector
The world is facing something of a perfect storm with regards to oil prices, as countries try to cut their addiction to Russian oil and vie for new sources.
The issue is so acute that US President Joe Biden is travelling to Saudi Arabia – a country he previously labelled ‘a pariah state’ after the murder of Washing Post reporter Jamal Kashoggi in 2018 – next week to implore them to increase oil production.
European Union leaders have said they will block most Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.
The news will come as little comfort to residents living under Heathrow’s flight paths, who are being kept awake until after midnight by an increase in late running night flights due to the disruptions across the aviation sector.
The west London airport apologised to people suffering ‘greater disturbance’ as more aircraft are arriving and departing later than planned.
Heathrow does not have any scheduled departures between 10.50pm and 6am, or scheduled arrivals between 10.55pm and 4.40am, but take-offs and landings occur within those periods when planes are delayed.
Flight punctuality has plummeted in recent months as airlines and airports struggle to cope with the spike in demand for travel.
On Saturday night three aircraft arrived at Heathrow after midnight.
The latest was a British Airways flight from Kalamata, Greece which touched down at 12.31am, more than two hours behind schedule.
Meanwhile, passengers whose summer British Airways flights are being cancelled in an effort to help ease disruption should be told soon which trips are have been hit, according to a former BA chief executive.
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, said: ‘I would hope that those flights that are being cancelled would be announced very quickly’
Tens of thousands of passengers could be affected by the move to cancel hundreds of flights at Heathrow and Gatwick.
Willie Walsh, who is now director general of the International Air Transport Association, said: ‘I would hope that those flights that are being cancelled would be announced very quickly.’
He also told Sunday Morning with Sophie Raworth: ‘I am surprised they haven’t been announced. Certainly, I believe they should have been announced as soon as they made clear they would be cancelled.’
He said: ‘I think it is right though, that these cancellations are made early, because at least that will allow airlines and their customers to adapt to the revised schedules.
‘In many cases I would imagine that you would have less than 20 per cent of the seats on those flights booked.’
Crowds of passengers at Heathrow Airport in west London as travel chaos continues due to staff shortages and strikes
Flight punctuality has plummeted in recent months as airlines and airports struggle to cope with the spike in demand for travel (pictured: Heathrow Airport)
Overflown residents living near Heathrow have been given little respite, as the first flight scheduled for Sunday morning arrived at 4.33am.
A 49-year-old woman who did not want to be named said her sleep has been severely disrupted as departing low-altitude aircraft have ‘a huge impact on those of us that are now directly under a flight path’.
The woman, who lives in Sunningdale, Berkshire, 10 miles from Heathrow, said: ‘Constant delayed late evening flights make it impossible to sleep before midnight.
‘I generally go to bed much later now. It has definitely got worse in the last three months.
‘There is no consideration and no effort from the airlines to get aircraft higher when there is less traffic in the sky.
‘My fear is if the Government give the go ahead for night flights on a temporary basis throughout the summer it may become the norm, which would just be unbearable.’
A 50-year-old man from Warlingham, Surrey, 20 miles from the airport, said the rise in the number of late-running night flights ‘started fairly gradually and has just ramped up’.
The flights extend disturbance suffered by overflown communities ‘until unacceptable hours’, said the man, who also wanted to remain anonymous.
People facing more delays at terminal 2 Heathrow Airport this morning with delays and some cancelations
Some passengers at Heathrow resorted to sleeping on the floor as they wait for their flights to board
‘The noise and vibration can be heard and felt through the house.
‘As it’s been so warm in the evenings the windows have been open, exacerbating the issues and disturbing me when trying to get to sleep.’
John Stewart, who chairs anti-aircraft noise group Hacan, said Heathrow reduced the number of late night flights but ‘it is now slipping back because of the chaos during the day’.
He added: ‘Residents across a very wide area are paying the price for this.’
Heathrow said in a statement: ‘We apologise for the recent increase in late running flights, which mean that our local communities are facing greater disturbance.
‘We understand the impact of night noise and we are continuing to take action wherever possible to improve our operational performance.
‘Unfortunately, a combination of closed or restricted airspace and resourcing pressures within the wider aviation community means we face an exceptionally challenging summer season.
‘Heathrow has made significant progress over time in tackling late runners and we remain committed to that in the longer term.’
There is a Government-imposed annual limit on the number of flights at Heathrow between 11.30pm and 6am.
Night flights are a vital source of income for Heathrow, but academic studies have indicated there is a link between long-term noise from flights at unsociable hours and poor health.
There has been speculation that the Government is considering easing night flight restrictions to reduce disruption to passengers during the peak summer holiday season.
But a Department for Transport spokesman insisted there are ‘no plans to change the overall night flight quotas allotted to airports’, and any amendment would be subject to consultation.
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