What are you missing!? Are you kidding? It's money of course! Closing Heathrow costs the airlines, freight companies customers and the travelling public a large fortune. However, it only costs BAA (British Airports Authority), the owners and operators of Heathrow a small fortune. Loss of landing fees is a pain as is the loss of footfall through all those shops and restaurants but is nothing as to making a major investment in snow ploughs and de-icing equipment. They can live with the bad PR as long as the share price keeps up there.
Apparently today the CEO of BAA, Colin Matthews, announced he is to forgo his annual performance bonus for this year as the buck stops with him, etc, etc.
What he didn't give up is the huge bonus in share options he is due in 2012 if the company meets it's financial targets set him by it's owners - a Spanish property company!
Here ya go, JP;
Heathrow 1949