FILE PHOTO: An aircrafts lands at the north runaway at Heathrow Airport near London, Britain October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Heathrow, which is owned by a group of investors including Spain’s Ferrovial , the Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corp, said 60% of Heathrow’s route network remained grounded, requiring passengers to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. Last week finance minister Rishi Sunak said the government would not hesitate to add more countries to its quarantine list when asked whether France could also join it.
“Tens of thousands of jobs are being lost because Britain remains cut off from critical markets such as the U.S., Canada and Singapore,” said Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye.
I have trouble mustering any sympathy. Airlines and airports have treated passengers like chattle for decades. If old companies must fall and new rise, so be it.
Heathrow is a strange, deserted place these days. Acres of empty car parks. Masses of planes parked up, no people to speak of. It brings home the full impact of the virus and it’s woeful mismanagement by Johnson-Cummings.