British Airways asks for unitised freight to help alleviate Heathrow congestion

IAG Cargo's Acentis building at London-Heathrow

British Airways’ cargo team has requested that customers unitise their freight if possible to help alleviate delays at its Heathrow facility.

The request comes after UK forwarder association BIFA approached British Airways as its members had reported experiencing delays.

In response, British Airways’ Martin Lyall said the issue had his full attention.

“What we are suggesting is where customers have enough freight, we are asking to unitise on aircraft ULDs,” he said.

“For many customers, this is more convenient as they are able to break the units down at their own facilities. This does not work for everyone, which is why we offer both a unitised and loose proposition, but it will ease congestion and allow freight to be released more rapidly where it can be applied.

“We are reviewing all other potential measures to increase flow and ultimately improve service.

“We are planning to make a difference in days rather than weeks. I will be spending time in the operation with the team to review their plans and identify any further opportunities.

“This is of high importance to us and is being dealt with accordingly.  It has my full attention.

“I appreciate that our performance has a direct impact on our customers, and we will do all we can, as quickly as we can to improve the situation.”

Meanwhile, cargo workers at British Airways (BA) have voted in favour of strike action over changes to pay and conditions.

The cargo handler members of union Unite voted 98% in favour of taking strike action over nine days starting on Christmas day and finishing on January 2.

 

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Damian Brett

Damian Brett
I have been writing about the freight and logistics industry since 2007 when I joined International Freighting Weekly to cover the shipping sector.After a stint in PR, I have gone on to work for Containerisation International and Lloyds List - where I was editor of container shipping - before joining Air Cargo News in 2015.Contact me on [email protected]