The UK transport secretary has expressed that she would find it difficult to rest if she were in charge of Heathrow airport, particularly in light of reports indicating that its CEO managed to sleep during a crisis that unfolded early Friday morning.
A fire at a nearby electrical substation led to significant disruptions on Friday, resulting in the airport’s closure and affecting over 200,000 travelers worldwide.
According to a report from the Sunday Times, the airport’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, went to bed at 12:30 a.m., delegating critical decisions to the chief operating officer, Javier Echave, while the substation that powered the airport was on fire.
Heathrow representatives explained to the newspaper that Woldbye’s decision was aimed at ensuring he was well-rested for the crucial decision to reopen the airport the following day.
Having attended an event in central London when the power outage occurred late Thursday night, Woldbye returned to the airport and resumed work around 7:30 a.m., reaching his office shortly after 9 a.m. Woldbye, who became the CEO of Heathrow in October 2023 after managing Copenhagen Airport for 12 years, received a compensation package of £3.2 million last year, which included a £2.2 million bonus.
When asked about her confidence in Woldbye, Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, refrained from giving a direct answer. Speaking on LBC radio, she noted, “I’ve faced some pretty stressful situations myself. Honestly, I would likely struggle to sleep.”
Alexander elaborated, “From my understanding, he placed his chief operating officer in charge. He would have been aware that numerous difficult decisions awaited him the next day.
“I won’t justify the actions taken or not taken by Heathrow’s leadership. I wasn’t involved in discussions nor privy to the information available to him at that time.”
On Friday, Europe’s busiest airport experienced the cancellation of over 1,000 flights due to the fire at the substation in Hayes, west London. Operations resumed on Saturday, and the airport returned to normal by Sunday, though some minor delays persisted.
On Monday, Alexander stated on ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “If Woldbye trusted his chief operating officer to make that judgment, and if he understood that critical decisions would need to be made in the next 24 hours, I won’t second-guess the rationale behind his choice.”
In contrast to Woldbye’s actions, the CEOs of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic worked through the night as the closure of Heathrow resulted in diversions and grounded flights, as reported by the Sunday Times.
When questioned by the BBC on Saturday, Woldbye refused to comment on whether he should retain his position.
Alexander’s remarks coincided with a heated exchange between Heathrow and National Grid. The National Grid’s head claimed on Sunday that sufficient power was available for Heathrow to remain operational during the entirety of its shutdown on Friday, thanks to two other substations supplying electricity.
However, a Heathrow spokesperson contended on Monday, “As John Pettigrew, the chief executive of National Grid, remarked – he has never witnessed a transformer failure of this magnitude in his three decades in the industry. His perspective aligns with the fact that this was an unprecedented incident, and uninterrupted operation was not feasible for Heathrow.
“Hundreds of essential systems across the airport needed to be safely powered down and subsequently rebooted systematically. Given Heathrow’s scale and operational intricacies, safely resuming operations after such significant disruption was a major challenge.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has instructed the National Energy System Operator to look into the power outage. An assessment of the airport’s crisis management strategies and its response will be conducted by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly.
Heathrow announced it would operate a full schedule on Monday, with over 1,300 flights planned. Over the weekend, it successfully managed more than 2,500 flights, serving 400,000 passengers.
A spokesperson mentioned, “We sincerely apologize for the disruption caused by Friday’s closure, which followed a significant fire at an off-site power substation. Our primary focus continues to be serving our passengers and ensuring they can travel safely and promptly.”
The post Heathrow Crisis: Transport Secretary Questions Airport CEOs Decision to Sleep During Emergency first appeared on London.
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Author : London News
Publish date : 2025-03-24 14:07:00
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