Heathrow Airport bosses have defended their decision to shutdown the London airport last Friday, in the face of claims Europe’s busiest airport had enough power to continue operating.
London Heathrow closed all day Friday after an overnight fire at a nearby energy substation wiped it of power to operate flights – with around 200,000 passengers affected.
All flight operations were back on track by Saturday morning, but passengers have been warned to expect possible ongoing delays.
The British Government has now started a 6-week investigation into the incident, but criticism and finger-pointing has already begun.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) questioned why Heathrow should be reliant on one power station and said the airport’s bosses had let down passengers and airlines.
The UK National Grid, meanwhile, has claimed that Heathrow had enough power availability from two other nearby energy substations, unaffected by the fire.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said switching power systems takes a lot of time and even when complete, all airport systems – from airbridges and lifts to escalators and shop shutters – have to be tested for safety.
Heathrow’s back-up planning for such occurrences is sure to feature heavily in the investigation, given the airport’s international importance.
Currently, that back-up features emergency generators for runway lights and landing equipment and a generator for Terminal 4’s power.
