Heathrow airport defends blackout handling, says shutdown was unavoidable

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By Kate Duffy

 

London’s Heathrow airport defended its handling of Friday’s unprecedented shutdown, rejecting assertions it had enough backup power to remain open after a fire knocked out the main substation supplying the hub.  

“It would not have been possible for Heathrow to operate uninterrupted,” the airport said in an emailed statement. “Given Heathrow’s size and operational complexity, safely restarting operations after a disruption of this magnitude was a significant challenge.”

 

Heathrow was responding to comments over the weekend from National Grid Plc Chief Executive Officer John Pettigrew, who told the Financial Times there were enough alternative power supplies to keep the airport running.

 

The shutdown has led to criticism of the airport for a lack of redundancy and the actions of its CEO, Thomas Woldbye. He went home to sleep and left the decision to shut down flights to a deputy, The Times reported. British Airways chief Sean Doyle worked through the night into Friday to reroute flights headed to the airline’s biggest hub.

 

Heathrow managed to restart a few flights late on Friday after the blackout but services remained disrupted over the weekend. By Sunday the airport was operating at close to normal levels. 

 

The government announced an independent investigation into the fire, which Heathrow said it supports and that “lessons can and will be learned.”

 

Each of two alternate substations had enough power to supply Heathrow, Pettigrew told the FT, after its North Hyde location was shut down by fire.   

 

Flights were brought to a standstill and planes were diverted after a blaze broke out at a nearby power station late Thursday, forcing the airport to close. The backup systems helped the airport to land some aircraft and evacuate passengers, but not to run a full operation.

 

Hours after the fire started, Woldbye went to bed, leaving Chief Operating Officer Javier Echave in charge, The Times said.