Lord Actonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 27 June 2003 (WA 49–50), whether the travelators at Heathrow Airport fell below the required standard in 2003; and, if so, in how many months of 2003; and by how much they did not meet the required standard. [HL933]
§ Lord Davies of OldhamThe performance of travelators at Heathrow is primarily a matter for the airport operator. However, following an adverse finding by the Competition Commission, the Civil Aviation Authority imposed last year a scheme of standards and rebates for a number of services and facilities at Heathrow, including travelators. The standard for travelators is that in each month they should be available for 98 per cent of the time during the core period of the day from 05:00 to 23:00. The scheme came into effect in July 2003 and applies to each of the four terminals at Heathrow. For the six months from July to December, the airport met the standard in Terminal One, but failed to achieve it in two of the months in Terminal Two, in all six of the months in Terminal Three and in one of the months in Terminal Four. Where the terminals failed to reach the standard, travelator availability was above 90 per cent on seven occasions and above 80 per cent on the other two.