snow

PRE-XMAS HEATHROW CHAOS - nothing new

Yes, I also got stuck in the pre-Xmas chaos at Heathrow. Well, actually I didn't really get as stuck as others, I had a narrow escape.
A quick reminder: school holidays started on Friday, 17th December. The first snow flakes fell early on Saturday, 18th December. Many flights were delayed and then cancelled that day. People spent a night in the airport. (Heathrow seemed the worst affected funnily enough) Heathrow was completely closed on Sunday to clear the snow and de-ice the parking planes. People spent another night in the airport. On Monday 20th December, Heathrow promised that all would be back to normal, with most flights running normally and only a few cancellations.

We had a flight booked on Monday afternoon to Munich. 'We' is me and my 2 boys, 9 and 12. We usually fly Lufthansa, because as a friend of mine observed on the snowy weekend before: 'well, at least it's a proper airline!' (there is a musician speaking!). Hm. 2 Xmasses ago we arrived on the Saturday before Xmas for our usual Christmas flight to Munich. We had plenty of time. Terminal 2 (as it then was, now demolished) was heaving. There was a queue of about 300 passengers, all with tickets. We stood at the back of the queue. After half an hour we were told by an inaudible woman with a megaphone that we should go away and get lunch. After lunch we rejoined the same queue. I went to a member of staff after a while of not moving in the queue and asked what the procedure is 'oh, you just queue here, yes, that's right'. After a while I went again to ask someone else, reply: 'oh, we call the flights that are due'. Another member of staff (Business class desk) was asked 10 mins later 'oh, don't worry, no flight's on time today'. I had not realised that there was another queue of about the same amount of people, going in the other direction. The calls for flights only reached this left queue, not ours. The fourth member of staff was asked. He rushed me to the front of the queue and to the check-in desk. We were checked in, but a second before hitting the 'Enter' button the flight closed. My older son had by that time developed a high temperature. I complained at the complaints desk (another hour wait) while my son broke down in front of that desk violently ill, and we were booked on an evening flight. My parents (including my mother with a broken foot in plaster) waited at Munich airport for half a day.

OK, back to Xmas 2010: Terminal 2 demolished, Lufthansa check-in hall stuck at the end of a tunnel in Terminal 1. We arrived in good time, hardly could get out of the lifts for people. Scenes from the Titanic or War camps sprung to mind. Foul-tempered passengers who had spent 2 nights in the airport, stressed staff, far too many people in the check-in hall to be allowed for Health and Safety, and many more outside (15 degrees below that day), kept there by police and 'keep-out' tape. We joined a heap of people, but were told that they were waiting for Sao Paolo. We went round the entire hall to join the same heap of people 3metres away. I enquired with people in front of me whether the Munich flight had been called. Yes, said some, some said, don't know. Around us was a group of Czechs who had a little muffin party and a flight in 5 hrs. Next to me was a young German man who said there was nothing one could do. In front of me a woman who was obviously quite disgusted by me trying to find out what was going on. In front of her an American older man who answered to my question whether he had not tried to fight his way through (we had established that he was on the same flight in 45 mins) 'You are asking me a question I have no answer for'. Every subsequent question was met with the same answer. He was probably battery-operated with only one text loop.
You have to imagine that there was a group of passengers of about 300 blocking the entrance to the Lufthansa check-in hall and the Ticket desk. Some had tickets, some hadn't. There was supposed to be a passageway through for those who had a flight within an hour. Announcements such as 'Hamburg! Hamburg!' were inaudible, and only reached the back of the crowd by willing passengers passing on the message. Those with a flight to Hamburg had no way of fighting their way through with luggage.
Around us the crowds seemed to go out of hand, people obviously had enough. There was panic, ridicule, hysterical laughing, tears, the lot. An Austrian lady next to us with a flight to Vienna went to the internet on her iPhone to see when the Hamburg flight was scheduled for, as we had no way of seeing a departure info board. I could see the fear in my children's eyes: 'oh no, not again!' Luckily, a member of staff stood on the balcony above us and shouted 'all for Hamburg and Munich through the double doors!' 20 of us crashed through the double doors, inside members of staff, shocked 'who's on that door, anyone controlling that door? Lock it now!!!!' the doors were locked behind us. I had to fight with a member of staff to be allowed in the check-in hall. She was refusing me entry, although our flight was in 25mins.
Before crashing through the doors there had been some inaudible announcements, snippets of words wafted over 'clear terminal' and 'cancel all flights'. The Xray hall was deserted, so was the Departure Lounge. Our flight was up as 'delayed' until 40 mins after its scheduled departure. We had a conversation with another passenger on our flight who said he was even told to join the desperados outside the airport (!) earlier. Then came the announcement that all Lufthansa flights were cancelled. Our flight was the last one to leave.

The cancellations were NOT due to the weather. The weather was fine, they had all of Sunday to deal with it. They could not control the crowds. Now, for the Lufthansa crowd I reckon it would have needed 4 members of staff and 2 police and an hour. It would have been sorted.
If it had not been the first time like this, I would say that the Heathrow boss not taking his Xmas bonus (ahh, poor thing!) was justified. But having been through it once, without the snow, I say he should hang his head in shame and quit. Let someone do the job who can organise people. That's what running an airport is about, or is it? Perhaps it's just about earning loads of money.

PS: Frankfurt airport was also affected by the Heathrow chaos and had many stranded passengers. When no bed could be found within 60km of the airport, a furniture giant opened their doors and offered their beds to passengers.

PPS: Interestingly neither the disgusted shoulder-shrugging woman nor the grumpy old American robot had made it on the Munich flight.