London gears up for record passenger numbers on the eve of the Olympics
It’s great news that a planned strike by Border Agency staff has been called off, sparing visitors significant disruption at UK airports on the eve of the Olympics.
London Heathrow is expecting record numbers of passengers today so strike action would have been damaging as the eyes of the world fall on London.
The airport’s website reports that a record 125,000 passengers are expected to arrive at Heathrow today – beating the previous record of 123,000 arriving passengers set last year.
The Olympics is also proving a major draw for private jet charter users – with high levels of traffic expected into London’s smaller airports including Farnborough and Biggin Hill.
Biggin Hill Airport (13 miles from the Olympic stadium) is pitching itself as the gateway to London 2012 – not only for those going to see the events, but also private jet users who still need to conduct business in the capital.
Due to security and the high levels of traffic all airports in the London area are slot co-ordinated for the 2012 Olympic Games but Biggin Hill reported this week that slots and short or longer-term aircraft parking remain available for the period of the event.
Chapman Freeborn’s UK VIP team is also on track for a busy few weeks with clients flying in from around the world for the event. A variety of private jet types will touching down in London over the next few days ranging from Piaggio Avantis up to Gulfstream 550s.
