Heathrow Airport closed after 'significant power outage' due to nearby fire

CGTN Europe

CGTN Europe discussed this with aviation and tourism analyst Anita Mendiratta

Transcript

00:00Let's talk now to Anita Menderati, an expert in aviation.

00:04Anita, good to see you. Welcome.

00:06Well, obviously, not just Chaos for tens of thousands of passengers,

00:09but for UK businesses, too, that relies so heavily on Heathrow for cargo.

00:17Absolutely. And I think it's really important that you're mentioning the cargo side of things,

00:21because 95% of the commercial aircraft that come into Heathrow have cargo in the belly of the plane.

00:27And we're looking at about 4,000 tons of cargo every single day going through Heathrow,

00:32which, by implication, if that's fragile cargo, being pharmaceuticals, perishables,

00:37agriculture-based products, this puts it at risk if timings are pushed out.

00:42But I think what's also very important about this is it once again highlights,

00:46firstly, the dependency that the world has on aviation for connection of people, of places,

00:52of products, and the importance of the aviation ecosystem.

00:57Because exactly as you've been emphasizing in terms of how this is impacting passengers and cargo,

01:02what's critical is that, as we know, Heathrow has a curfew.

01:06It goes in the curfew from late at night into early, early morning hours.

01:11And thankfully, the airport was announced to be closing at quarter to 3 a.m. this morning.

01:16That allowed Heathrow the opportunity to mobilize the entire aviation network

01:21to look at how does it then start reallocating where aircraft can land,

01:26which aircraft should actually stop from being in departure mode,

01:30and those that have departed, how do you then return them back to base?

01:34But to be able to do that and to be able to provide everyone with a sense of,

01:38up until midnight tonight, nothing is going to happen, allows for some degree of planning,

01:44allows for some degree of preparation of remobilization.

01:49But it doesn't take away the frustration and the anger that is understandable for one person times 200,000 times.

01:56One day, presumably, isn't going to fix it.

01:59The disruption for business and passengers coming to that is going to roll in, presumably, to many days.

02:06No, there's no question about it.

02:07Because we have the losses from today, plus what was already on schedule for tomorrow and right through the weekend.

02:13So the knock-on effect is immense.

02:15And that's why no airport in the world ever wants to announce that they're having to shut their doors.

02:20This is where, exactly as you were saying in terms of the cost to Heathrow,

02:25the cost is not only financial, the reputational damage is immense.

02:29Willie Walsh, who used to be the CEO of British Airways and then of the IAG group,

02:34now the head of the International Air Transport Association, as you've stated,

02:38is very clear on the shortcomings of Heathrow and the degree to which Heathrow has sadly let down both the cargo side of things and passengers.

02:48So this is an unfortunate one for Heathrow, because it really is about saying,

02:52how can one of the world's most connected airports for travel and for trade be so vulnerable to one situation of energy lossage?

03:02And what is the answer to your question?

03:03I mean, how does Heathrow get into a position like this where seemingly there is no backup generation or contingency planning?

03:12Indeed, there was a backup generator and there's debate, there's dialogue about did it operate, did it not?

03:17I think what's important about this is that the shock of the day has worn off quite a bit.

03:23I mean, there's frustration, no question, there's anger.

03:25But the shock that people woke up to this morning has moved on.

03:29It's now focusing on the why.

03:31Why did this happen?

03:32Who's responsible?

03:33Why are we looking at a situation of exactly, as you say, one energy framework being able to collapse an airport?

03:40What we need to focus on first and in tandem, but very much not losing priority, is the how.

03:46How do we get people home safely?

03:48How do we get people moving again?

03:50How do we get cargo moving again?

03:52So as much as we need to focus on the why this happened, at the same time,

03:56we can't lose focus on and compassion for those that are currently in a very, very difficult position.

04:03We have passengers, airline crew and aircraft that are in many places around the world where they shouldn't be, quite honestly.

04:11And this is where the airports are going to struggle from the point of view of the financial implications of the cost of bringing all that back.

04:18But on top of that, there's duty of care.

04:20We have, as you've stated, over 200,000 people who are in a position of being stranded.

04:25That duty of care also needs to be mobilized by the airlines, which they are doing,

04:30to make sure people are accommodated with the food and drink that they require.

04:35Overnight stays are required.

04:37And getting people moving again, even if that means by trade and by road,

04:41I beg your pardon, train and by road, rather than by aircraft.

04:45Anita, good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us.

04:47Anita Menderati, the expert in aviation.

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