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COVID-19: More than
14,000 'ghost flights' left UK airports during the pandemic
Flights
operate with low numbers of passengers for 'a range of reasons', says minister
Airlines have operated thousands of so-called ghost flights from
UK airports during the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.
The international flights,
which had no more than 10% of their seats filled, departed from 32 airports between
March 2020 and September 2021.
Heathrow
had the most with 4,910 flights, followed by Manchester and Gatwick.
A total of 14,472 empty or
nearly empty flights were recorded over the 19-month period, at an average of
25 every day.
The figures include flights
which were operated mainly to transport cargo or repatriate Britons stranded
overseas.
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Airlines traditionally run
these flights when they need to hit the 80% threshold for using take-off and
landing slots at congested airports - to retain the right to use them during
the following year.
However, this has led to concern about the environmental impact of the flights.
Aviation
minister Robert Courts said: "Departing flights may operate with a low
number of passengers for a range of reasons.
"Since the onset of the
pandemic, the government has provided alleviation from the normal slot
regulations that require airlines to operate 80% of their slots in order to
retain them for the following season.
"This means that airlines
have not been required to operate empty or almost empty flights solely to
retain their historic slots rights."
Heathrow chief executive John
Holland-Kaye said flights with low passenger numbers were often used to
transport cargo.
He added: "If you were
flying PPE from China or UK exports into the US while those markets were closed
(to leisure travel), you would fly them on a passenger plane and you might only
have a couple of passengers on board."
"Given how tight finances
are, nobody is flying a plane unless it is economically viable. This is
actually about keeping the UK supply chain going while borders are closed for
passengers."
British
Airways and Virgin Atlantic both insisted they have not operated "ghost
flights" to retain slots during the pandemic.
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