anotherthing, you said "
Heathrow is an extremely busy airport that struggles daily with the number of stands available, it is a very tightly run operation in that regard and usually works under normal operations using very nimble and precise timings. BA took the decision to cancel flights early. This means that aircraft that should have vacated stands didn't, exacerbating the problem.
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So why didn't the BAA tell them to get their aircraft off the stands to remote parking, or hit them with financial penalties ? Makes me wonder who runs the airport sometimes :-(