Heathrow desperately needs investment and “has a serious lag” behind other airports, according to the president of Emirates.
Sir Tim Clark stated Heathrow pales in comparison to aviation hubs located in Asia and the Middle East. This includes his company’s base, in Dubai, that has surpassed Heathrow as the busiest airport in the world.
Sir Tim stated: “Heathrow has serious problems in its customer-facing functions.”
It’s a very old airport. New airports are being built all over the world using the latest technology to streamline processes.
Dubai Airport, opened in 1960, has overtaken Heathrow Airport as the busiest airport of the world about a decade back.
Heathrow opened in 1946, and Sir Tim noted that it was showing signs of age. Emirates’ Terminal 3 “looks utilitarian, post Second World War.” They ask, can I pay myself a dividend? What about my bonus. Look at what is happening in the terminal.”
The comments are made ahead of an upcoming potential ownership change at the airport. Ferrovial, a Spanish company, has agreed to sell a 25pc stake it holds in Heathrow Airport to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Ardian private equity group. Ferrovial, PIF and Ardian must find buyers for the remaining 35pc of the airport’s shares. This could cause the deal to collapse.
Sir Tim spoke at the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s annual meeting in Dubai and said that any new owner of Heathrow Airport must be willing to invest.
He said, “The investment needed for Heathrow needs to move quickly.” You have to invest to keep up.
I hope that the new owner will understand that. “But airports aren’t known for their extravagant spending.”
Shai Weiss also spoke at the IATA meeting. He added that a possible change in ownership, as well as a change of government, “creates an ideal environment for considering how to improve the airport, which is the most expensive in world.”
Heathrow’s investment plans are overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority. Airports that fly into Heathrow had asked for approval to increase landing fees, saying the money would be used to fund investments. The airlines have successfully resisted such demands and the charges are lower than Heathrow wanted.
Heathrow’s spokesperson said: “We need approval from our regulator for every pound that we spend on airport improvements.”
“Despite our proposals being cut in the current regulatory settlement we will still spend PS3.6bn upgrading infrastructure over the next 3 years.” We will continue investing and working with our airline partners in order to build a future-proof airport.
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