17 December 2008

Virgin to force BAA to pay for Gatwick closure disruption

Virgin is refusing to pay up to Ã&#pound;100,000 in airport charges to cover the cost of disruption caused by a runway closure at Gatwick last week.

BAA closed the runway for several hours on December 11 after failing to predict cold weather and de-ice the runway in time for morning arrivals and departures.

The airline said it will automatically deduct the costs it incurred due to the disruption, estimating this could reach up to Ã&#pound;100,000.

Virgin had to delay flights and divert seven arriving aircraft to Luton and Stansted, causing disruption for thousands of passengers.

Virgin president Sir Richard Branson said: "It is highly incompetent for an airport operator to fail to predict the cold weather and not have de-icing fluid on standby.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThousands of our passengers were disrupted and, while our teams looked after customers and offered refunds and hotel rooms, our costs increased sharply as a result. BAA will have to pick up these costs as it created the problem in the first place."

Virgin was not the only airline to be impacted by the closure. Other airlines are expected to take similar action.

By Bev Fearis