Post-Covid Heathrow is in a very different place. It held its Community Noise Forum online yesterday. A useful report was given by the airport on the current state of play. Below are the main points:
- Heathrow passenger numbers are down 82% on where they were last year.
- Heathrow is losing £5m a day (that is the amount its costs exceed the revenue coming in)
- It doesn’t expect passenger numbers to be back to their 2019 levels until around 2025
- Senior management staff levels have had to be reduced by a third (involving around 400 compulsory redundancies)
- All expenditure, except for that needed to keep the airport operating, has been paused
- Heathrow remains committed to community engagement but will review the form it will take in the light of its financial circumstances.
- Its commitment to minimising the impact of noise has not changed.
- The holding stacks are not required to be used just now because of the big fall in the number of flights
- Some more direct routes are being used
- As expected, with far fewer flights, the number of late-running planes (those arriving or taking off after 23.30) has been reduced significantly.
The noise and pollution has dropped here in Ascot
But we fear it will return with a vengeance soon!
Heathrow and the political system are not interested in the greener issues
Just more money for the shareholders
Noise noise noise
More pollution pollution pollution
Everybody talks hot air