The British Airports Authority, the operator of the London Heathrow Airport, has admitted that only part of the new Heathrow East Terminal, which is replacing the first two terminals, is going to be ready for business when delegates and competitors arrive to the Olympics in 2012.  Following a grand Olympics in Beijing this year, the news of these most recent delays will be damaging to the reputation of Britain, as well as the reputation of the British Airports Authority and Ferrovial, their Spanish parent company.

Theresa Villiers, the transport spokesman for Tories, said that this is just more embarrassment for the British Airports Authority, which will leave a lot of their airline passengers very angry.  The British Airports Authority needs to get it together, he continued, not only on the new terminal, but on making London Heathrow Airport better altogether.  The airport’s performance will play a key role in determining if the Olympics are a success, he added, and they need a higher quality of service for customers from the British Airports Authority than they have had during recent months.

The Competition Commission requested last month that the British Airports Authority lose their monopoly on the airports in London, advocating that they should be made to sell Gatwick and Stansted.  It was argued that this would mean the service standards of the airports would improve, and the hassles at the London Heathrow Airport may become past issues, if those 3 airports were competing with one another.  The extent of the terminal delay is not clear, however, it has been understood that many key building contractors will not begin working on it until next year.

Learn more at:  www.heathrowairport.com