Global airlines chief slams new Heathrow restrictions

The head of a body representing global airlines hit out at new restrictions at London's Heathrow on Tuesday, saying the airport had under-estimated the speed of the recovery and was focused on profits at the expense of airlines that must now foot the bill. Willie Walsh, DG of the IATA, and a former head of Heathrow's biggest operator BA, panned moves to tell airlines to restrict the number of seats they sell to try to limit summer disruption. However, he recognised the measures would give airlines and passengers some opportunity to plan and avoid delays. "I am surprised Heathrow have not been able to get their act together better than this. Airlines have been predicting stronger traffic than Heathrow has been predicting ... they clearly got it completely wrong," Walsh said. He was speaking in an interview after Heathrow said it would cap departing passengers at 100,000 a day this summer to limit delays and cancellations, and urged airlines to stop selling tickets for flights that could be curtailed. "To tell airlines to stop selling - what a ridiculous thing for an airport to say to an airline," Walsh said. "Heathrow are trying to maximise the profitability that they get from the airport at the expense of airlines." Walsh has long been a fierce critic of Heathrow, one of Europe's busiest international hubs.<br/>