MA re-roofed most of T1 in summer 2004 and 2005.
But it doesn't hide the fact that during most of the 1990s when Geoff Muirhead was directly responsible as Chief Executive, most of the estate was under-invested in for maintenance. The T1 roof, and the aprons and taxiways are just the visible consequences of that, but you can also add the as-yet unseen disasters that are the T1 multi storey car park, T1 Arrivals landside, T1 Tower Block (aircon and asbestos), Pier B (asbestos), Olympic House (sick building syndrome and leaking cladding), Commonwealth House (leaking cladding), 4M (no tenants
) and more.
MA is behaving like a typical corporation - fat cat payrises for those in the ivory tower, decades of under-investment, excessive profits going straight back to the shareholders (local councils who spend it on lefty non-jobs), continual erosion of workers' pay and rights, and reductions in union power. The consequences are now coming home to roost - dangerous facilities, industrial unrest, difficulty recruiting and keeping staff, and worst of all the customers are voting with their feet, leaving the company in serious trouble. Don't forget that MA mortgaged both EMA and MAN to the hilt to buy EMA and BOH and that debt still needs paying back.
It is time for the Board and Chairman to take a long look at its senior management team and make some hard decisions, perhaps a bit harder than just getting rid of Mr Spooner and shuffling the deckchairs a bit.
My sympathies go to MF, DQ and all the others who had to put right another of GM's messes by getting T1 up and running again. As ever, it's the true workers who have to put right the poor judgement of management.