Department for Transport
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Air passengers deserve better says Kelly
More reliable and efficient journey times for passengers using Heathrow would benefit travellers and the economy the Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, said today as she published evidence showing where passengers' journeys can be significantly improved.
Every stage of a journey, from leaving home to arrival at the airport, is analysed in Improving the Air Passenger Experience. It gives a clear picture of where pinch-points slow passengers down, identifies those accountable, and highlights what is being done and what more can be done.
We intend to apply the same "end-to-end" analysis to other airports and modes of transport in the future to ensure that passengers are at the heart of all we do.
Ms Kelly said:
"My priority is to improve the experience of air passengers and to do that we need to consider their whole journey time. It is not simply the flight that matters. It's the journey to the airport, the time spent in the queue at check-in, security or immigration, and any delays spent on the aircraft waiting for a slot to take off.
"If you travel from London to Frankfurt for instance you will spend about 90 minutes in the air, yet the whole journey from one city-centre to another takes about five hours.
"This is the first study of its kind which shows where delays occur, who is accountable and how they can be reduced or eliminated. This will not only give travellers an efficient and more reliable journey - it will also help Heathrow maintain its competitive edge in global aviation which is good for the entire UK economy.
"BAA are making significant investments to expand capacity at Heathrow, for example with Terminal 5 opening next March, and this will have a major impact on the passenger experience. And in the longer term, the construction of Crossrail will significantly reduce journey times to and from the airport for many.
"There are further measures we can investigate to reduce delays and these are outlined in this document."
Ms Kelly is writing to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to ask for its views on how to improve the transparency of check-in times and other aspects of performance related to getting through the airport.
The study includes data from the Department for Transport, BAA, British Airways, CAA and the National Air Traffic Service. It is available on the DfT website at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/airports/improveairpassenger.pdf
Notes to Editors
1. Ruth Kelly launched Improving the Air Passenger Experience in a speech today hosted by London First.
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Department for Transport
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