LONDON (AP) – Heathrow Airport executives have defended their response to a fire that shut down Europe’s busiest air hub for almost 18 hours, amid questions over why it took so long to restore power.
A fire at one of the airport’s three electrical substations knocked out power on Friday, causing over 1,300 flights to be canceled and disrupting journeys for more than 200,000 passengers. The airport reopened after reconfiguring its power supply, with thousands of passengers passing through on Saturday and Sunday.
Industry experts say the chaos will cost airlines tens of millions of dollars. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has ordered an investigation into “any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure.”
The government has raised concerns about the resilience of Britain’s energy system following the fire, particularly in light of Russia’s alleged sabotage efforts against Ukraine. The London Fire Brigade is leading the investigation into the substation’s electrical distribution equipment.
Heathrow Airport CEO Thomas Woldbye and his management team have faced criticism for their decision-making during the crisis, with questions over why they did not prioritize power supply restoration sooner. Alexander declined to back their decisions, saying “safety should always be paramount” but also acknowledging she did not have all the information available at the time.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/heathrow-airport-fire-disruption-impact-blame-infrastructure-668ed41edff79d2e6f837eae6c41a5b8