Delays and queues at Heathrow Airport are being partly caused by passengers packing too much make-up and faking mobility issues, airport’s boss John Holland-Kaye claimed.
In the past months, passengers flying from Heathrow airport have faced long queues and last-minute cancellations. To reduce the chaos, the airport introduced a daily cap of 100,000 passengers until October and asked airlines to stop selling tickets for August.
Moreover, Heathrow’s boss John Holland-Kaye accused airlines of being understaffed. He insisted that if they increased the number of workers, the airport would be able to expand the passenger cap.
Mr Holland-Kaye pointed out that passengers are also contributing to long queues and delays.
Speaking on ‘Leading Britain’s Conversation’ radio station, the boss said that airport security numbers matched pre-covid levels but that passengers are “traveling with more than they usually would.”
They have got more bags, and more liquids in their bags so that takes a little bit longer.
John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow Airport boss
He added that many passengers do not know that make-up is prohibited from travel, and they do not check-in all of their make-up because they are worried whether their baggage will make the journey with them.
People tend not to think of makeup as being prohibited from travel, so there’s a lot of education that we need to do with people.
John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow Airport boss
The airport also blamed airlines for being understaffed. Mr Holland-Kaye pointed out that ground handlers are fundamental for the airport’s ground operations. However, they are employed by the airlines, he added.
Ground handlers are the backbone of what you think of as being the airport, but they are employed by the airlines.
John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow Airport boss
Airport chaos impacts people with disabilities
According to the Civil Aviation Authority, people with mobility issues seem to be impacted by all this chaos worse than others. “It is self-evident that those with less mobility will find it more difficult to access support at airports when things go wrong”, explained the Civil Aviation Authority.
Mr Holland-Kaye blamed a TikTok travel hack for a spike in the demand for assistance for passengers with disabilities.
@wolfjenko Amazing what taking one sock off can achieve 😂✈️ #holiday #wheelchair #vip #foryoupage #foryou #prank #funny #fypシ ♬ original sound – WolfJenko
Asked about an episode where 20 wheelchair customers were left waiting in a part of the terminal without air conditioning, he defended Heathrow airport claiming that some passengers were feigning mobility impairments to skip the queue.
Some of this is because people are using the wheelchair support to try to get fast-tracked through the airport, that is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing, we need to protect that for the people who most need help.
John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow Airport boss
Holland-Kaye said that this is one of the travel hacks that people are recommending on TikTok.
