From UKIP Hillingdon's web site:
"I have already taken up with representatives of Heathrow Airport Ltd that they accommodate too many short haul flights for a supposed hub airport and are taking up valuable long distance slots with smaller aircraft"
Oh dear, this is an elementary mistake, a hub airport needs short haul feeder flights for its long haul routes. Business demands frequency on short haul, hence smaller planes more often.
"Currently, the runways are operating at 98% capacity but the terminals are operating way below that, in the main caused by airlines with historic slot allocations filling them with empty or almost empty aircraft to deny rivals the ability to land"
The new terminals offer plenty of capacity, needs to be matched by rwy capacity, obviously.
"Firstly, look at the ‘Grandfather rights’ granted to airlines on slots at Heathrow and how some of the airlines fill them with empty aircraft just to deny airspace to their rivals. "
"By revisiting these ‘grandfather rights’ and moving the majority of short haul flights from Heathrow to Gatwick, Luton and Stansted it will free up the slots for the heavier traffic that Heathrow needs as a ‘hub’ airport for the transcontinental flights (Which are the main reason given for building the third runway.)"
Not that simple now they have allowed a secondary slot market to develop because of the scarcity of slots. There are also "use it or lose it rules", as well as "slot surrender" requirements when carriers do joint ventures or buy one another.
Interesting, it appears that Hillingdon UKIP are aviation experts, just like the mayor's advisor..........