The airline, if it is to keep faith with its customers, has a duty to run its published schedule with a high degree of regularity and punctuality. This calls for a wide range of interlocking activities, most of which can be affected by restrictions of one form or another. Some of these restrictions cannot be overcome by the airline's own efforts, while others are of their own making, and the airline can take appropriate action to minimise their effect.

This paper has been written from the viewpoint of a major short haul airline, whose operations are centred at a major airport (London Heathrow), and discusses three major areas of concern: Congestion; Noise; Performance.