Heathrow shutdown costs airlines £100 million after devastating substation fire

In the United Kingdom, Heathrow Airport faced a significant operational crisis from March 21 as a fire in an electrical substation caused a major power outage. This incident resulted in more than 1,400 flights being cancelled or diverted, severely affecting nearly a quarter of a million passengers. The chaos from the shutdown, compounded by the loss of runway lights due to previous cable thefts, led to an estimated loss of £100 million for airlines in revenue and passenger care expenses. Furthermore, the emotional toll on passengers was considerable, with many missing important events due to unexpected travel disruptions. The head of the Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee, Nigel Wicking, expressed that the airport had been warned of potential vulnerabilities in its power supply only days before the fire. On March 15, Wicking raised concerns about the resilience of Heathrow's infrastructure after incidents of theft had already impacted runway operations. He indicated that the airport's Terminal 5 could have resumed operations much sooner than it did and that there had been opportunities to mitigate the situation if the necessary resilience measures had been in place. Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, defended the decision to close the airport during the power outage, suggesting that maintaining operations would have resulted in thousands of passengers being stranded without proper accommodations. Woldbye emphasized the importance of ensuring passenger safety and running airport services effectively amidst the extraordinary circumstances caused by the fire. He indicated potential systemic issues that led to the catastrophic failure of airport operations, citing the need for improved infrastructure and service. As aftermath discussions ensue, the Transport Select Committee held hearings on April 2 to investigate the causes of the airport shutdown. The questioning underscored frustrations from airline representatives regarding the airport's preparedness and the management of the crisis. As the full scope of disruptions and their impacts continues to unfold, the repercussions extend beyond immediate financial losses; they pose questions regarding the future of service reliability at one of Europe’s busiest airports.