Heathrow plans to send Olympic athletes' luggage by courier jets to avoid a meltdown in its baggage handling systems after the Games, the Evening Standard can reveal today.
Airport bosses admitted they will "probably" have to foot the bill for Olympians' luggage and are in talks with private freight firms. The cost is likely to reach millions of pounds. Courier group DHL quotes £2000 to send one single skull boat from the UK to Athens. Sending a javelin from the UK to China would be £139. Flying a racing bike to Sydney would be £284.25, whilst a hammer to Atlanta would be £164.79.
Athletes fly with as many as five bags each, compared with an average of 1.5 for other travellers.
A Heathrow spokesman said: "That will obviously put different pressure on the baggage system, so we're looking at various solutions to deliver luggage in a different way.
"The option of using a freight company like UPS to fly bags directly from the Olympic village to athletes' destination points is likely to form part of our final solution."
Experts fear travel disruption at London's airports and the Eurostar train terminal the day after next year's August 12 closing ceremony.
Heathrow is an official gateway of the 2012 Olympics. It is expecting 600,000 people connected to the Games - including 50,000 athletes, officials and sponsors - to pass through its baggage halls.
Although athletes tend to arrive at the Olympics gradually over a six-week period, most depart within 24 hours after the event wraps up.
A spokesman for Heathrow owner BAA, run by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, said: "It will take the entire airport community to work together to solve the problem.
"BAA manages the baggage system, but airlines know how much space is available in the hold of an aircraft. Baggage handlers work for airlines and Customs officials will need to deal with the bags."
He admitted that the plan could be unpopular with 2012 competitors who may want to travel with their sporting equipment.
"It is only part of our solution, as athletes going on from the Olympics to other events might not want to part with their equipment," he said. BAA will make a final announcement on its plans by the end of October.
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The possibility arises after BAA chief executive Colin Matthews last month told the Standard he "couldn't guarantee" Heathrow will be ready for the Olympics and said unpredictable elements like the weather could hit operations.
He said the airport has a large team working on Games plans but will not earn more as it is already full to capacity.
He added: "There will be lots of costs but no extra passengers or revenues. It's definitely not an opportunity for us to make lots of money."
