Bmi will run empty flights to retain slots

Bmi has been forced into admitting that it plans to operate flights from London Heathrow Airport on planes that are nearly empty, so that it can retain pricey landing and take-off slots, according to a reporter from The Times.

The carrier has said that it expects passenger numbers to fall over the coming months as the economic conditions worsen, but also said that it was not planning on relinquishing its coveted slots.

As Heathrow Airport operates at full capacity at all times, a new ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ regulation means that an airline would forfeit a slot if they fail to operate at a capacity of less than 80 per cent.

By running what is known as ‘ghost flights’, the airline hopes to hold onto their slots until passenger demand increases. Critics, however, are already condemning the plan.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has labelled the practice as “clearly unacceptable” and is demanding a full investigation, and the transport spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, Norman Baker, went ever further, calling the practice an “environmental disgrace.”

Bmi owns 11 per cent of Heathrow’s take-off slots – with one of the more valuable slots alone valued at up to £30 million.

www.flybmi.com