Latest news with #flightcancellations
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The sleeping Heathrow boss proves we're a nation led by donkeys
It was one of the more astonishing admissions of the week: 'Sorry lads, my phone was on silent.' Or, as the Kelly Review, published on Wednesday, put it: ' Mr Woldbye expressed to us his deep regret at not being contactable during the night of the incident.' The apology nestles in a 75-page report authored by Ruth Kelly, the former transport secretary, who examined the circumstances relating to the closure of Heathrow Airport on March 21. It's an impressively speedy job, with most inquiries of this nature usually waiting for the protagonists to die – or, at best, until their memories have long faded and the events have been massaged into a Netflix documentary – to be concluded. Yet here is a report published while the senior folk of one of the largest and busiest airports in Europe are still firmly in post. And clinging on for dear life – especially the chief executive, Thomas Woldbye. Indeed he has been vexed at the idea that he acted in any way other than exemplary over the 18-hour shutdown of Heathrow that resulted in the cancellation of 1,300 flights and affected some 270,000 passengers. The day after the shutdown, the Danish businessman even told Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that, in relation to the actions and decisions of Heathrow and related parties, he was 'proud of the entire ecosystem'. Pride being the most plausible emotion for him to express because, when the decision was taken to press the Heathrow off-button, Woldbye was asleep. Which for a Dane strikes me as a peculiarly British reaction, albeit with firm roots in the comedy of Captain Mainwaring of Dad's Army or Blackadder 's General Melchett. Our hero, Woldbye, as you can read on page 36 of the report (section 14, subsection 3), 'first became aware of the incident at approximately 06:45 on 21 March, and received a debrief from Mr Echave [Heathrow's chief operating officer]'. 'Fine work, man,' he might have said. 'Now, what's going on?' And, famously, it was not for want of trying to get hold of Woldbye during the night. In fact, what is known in the trade as the most 'critical event communication platform that provides information and sends alerts through all available communication channels', an F24 alarm was issued at 00.21. This is the technical equivalent of a cold bucket of water being thrown in your face, a gong being struck by your ear, a jumping up and down on Daddy at dawn. There was another F24 sent at 01.52, this one activating Gold (harder slaps around the chops, cries of 'wake up, you idiot!') and Echave, also we learn, 'attempted to call Mr Woldbye several times during the early hours'. Except Woldbye's mobile, albeit on his bedside table, was on silent. Or, as the report states, 'the phone had gone into a silent mode, without him being aware it had done so'. That's right, the man in charge of Heathrow – an airport that uses the most sophisticated technology available to run and protect a place with planes departing and landing every 45 seconds – has a phone that, completely of its own accord, jumps into 'do not disturb' mode. Perhaps the man whose most recent annual take-home pay was £3.2 million needs a second phone. Or how about an old-school landline with a trilling bell on it? We Brits are, quite clearly, lions led by donkeys. Incompetence seems key to the skill set in running either a large company or indeed government. There are, for example, the civil servants of the Department for Business and Trade who, in the face of colossal public pressure and moral finger-wagging, continue to resist fully compensating the likes of Sir Alan Bates for the Horizon IT system scandal. Last weekend he revealed that he had been offered a 'take it or leave it' offer of 49.2 per cent of his original claim. The compensation scheme, Sir Alan said, had become 'quasi-kangaroo courts in which the Department for Business and Trade sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses'. Or, consider the major water companies presiding over the effluent that pollutes our rivers. Earlier this month, Chris Weston, the CEO of Thames Water – Britain's biggest water company; a firm with massive debts, outdated infrastructure and more leaks and spills than the Titanic – admitted that senior managers had been in line for substantial bonuses courtesy of a privately financed £3 billion rescue-plan loan. Following pressure from Environment Secretary Steve Reed, Weston's spokesperson then announced that payments had been 'paused'. Yet, as The Guardian reported, Thames Water 'declined to answer questions about whether any of the retention package has already been paid'. High Court judge Mr Justice Leech, in relation to an £800 million cost to be spent on interest and advisers for the debt deal, said: 'Customers and residents who are struggling with their bills will be horrified at these costs and mystified how the Thames Water Group has been able to fund them or why it has agreed to do so.' Ponder, too, on those who run Royal Mail, increasing prices while presiding over terminal decline of their services, and the pen-pushing ninnies of our councils conjuring up safety costs that are wrecking traditional country street fairs and festivals. Indeed, just look to the politicians who run our country. We have a Chancellor in Rachel Reeves who claims to support hospitality while actually savaging it with increases in National Insurance Contributions for employers, and a Secretary of State for Education gleefully manifesting over a VAT policy that is closing down private schools.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Review sheds light on decision to shut Heathrow amid substation fire
A review into the Heathrow shutdown on 21 March, caused by a power failure, revealed that CEO Thomas Woldbye was unreachable during the incident as his phone was on silent. The decision to close Europe's busiest airport led to 1,400 flight cancellations, affecting more than 200,000 passengers. The review, led by Ruth Kelly, found that the decision to suspend operations was within the authority of chief operating operator Javier Echave, and would not have changed even if Mr Woldbye had been involved. The Kelly Review recommended enhancements to the notification process for critical incidents, including a secondary means of contact for key individuals, which Heathrow has already begun implementing. Airlines have criticised the decision not to open parts of Heathrow earlier, with a campaign group calling the internal Kelly Review insufficient in addressing poor contingency planning.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Heathrow boss slept until 6.45am on day of power shutdown due to his phone being on silent
On the day of the unprecedented closure of Heathrow due to a power failure, the airport boss slept soundly until 6.45am. The mobile phone of CEO Thomas Woldbye was on silent, the Kelly Review into the shutdown has revealed. The decision to close Europe's busiest airport on Friday 21 March led to 1,400 flight cancellations affecting more 200,000 people, and caused 120 planes that were already in the air to be diversions. Mr Woldbye was repeatedly called in the early hours of the morning. The first was a protocol alarm call known as F24 to alert him to the fire at a electricity substation feeding Heathrow. Then Javier Echave – the chief operating operator, who made the decision to close the airport for the whole of Friday – repeatedly tried to call his boss. The review by Ruth Kelly, a non-executive director of Heathrow, reveals: 'Although his phone was on his bedside table, Mr Woldbye reported that it did not alert him to the F24 alarms or to Mr Echave's other calls because the phone had gone into a silent mode, without him being aware it had done so and he was asleep at the time. 'Mr Woldbye first became aware of the incident at approximately 6.45am on 21 March, and received a debrief from Mr Echave. 'Although Mr Woldbye was therefore not involved in the decision to suspend operations, it was within Mr Echave's authority to make this decision, being the named individual on the CAA operating licence for the Airport. 'Neither Mr Woldbye nor Mr Echave considered the decision to stop operations would have changed had Mr Woldbye been involved.' The Kelly Review also reveals security staff in Terminal 2 had to rely on the torch function on their phones. 'Immediate interim adjustments were made after the incident to contingency plans, including issuing all security team members with battery powered torches,' the review says.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Finnair to cancel 110 flights on Friday due to industrial action
COPENHAGEN, May 28 (Reuters) - Finnair ( opens new tab said on Wednesday it would cancel around 110 flights on Friday due to industrial action at Helsinki airport, and that it expected the cancellations to affect around 8,000 of its customers.
Travel Weekly
23-05-2025
- Travel Weekly
Newark Airport delays have travelers considering other airports
Rick Ardis, owner of Ardis Travel in East Rutherford, N.J., had been scheduled to fly on May 21 from Newark to Denver and on to Salt Lake City to attend the ASTA Travel Advisor Conference. Rick Ardis But knowing that United is implementing most of its Newark flight cuts on routes that have several frequencies per day, like Newark-Denver, Ardis decided to change his itinerary. Instead of flying out of Newark, the veteran advisor drove 78 miles west, to Lehigh Valley Airport in Allentown, Pa., from where he could travel on United to Salt Lake City via a stop at Chicago O'Hare. Ardis made a good call. He said United ended up canceling the Newark-Denver flight on his original itinerary. Across much of New Jersey, travel advisors are fielding plenty of questions from concerned clients about Newark Airport, where recent operational cutbacks, cancellations, delays and air traffic control technology failures have been a topic of conversation at office watercoolers and children's sporting events. "I have had quite a few people asking about it," said Parri Mahan, a Freehold, N.J.-based independent travel advisor who is part of the Envoyage host agency network. "I think we're all really monitoring it." Ardis' decision notwithstanding, agents say that in large measure, their clients are staying with Newark since alternatives such as LaGuardia, JFK and Philadelphia tend to be too inconvenient. "People don't want the traffic," said Melissa Sanchez, owner of Spellbound Vacations in Rochelle Park, N.J. "When people start thinking of the convenience of Newark, they decide, 'Let's stick it out.'" An April 28 air traffic control outage at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control -- a facility that directs approaches into Newark -- caused several controllers to take trauma leave. And in the weeks that followed, operations in and out of Newark were chaotic, including high numbers of cancellations and frequent, long delays. Newark operations had stabilized significantly by mid-May, largely as a result of schedule cutbacks. United, Newark's dominant carrier, led the way, voluntarily implementing a schedule cutback of 35 operations per day beginning May 2. Then on May 20, the FAA imposed a cap of 28 arrivals and 28 departures per hour in Newark and required all domestic operators there to trim schedules. The cap will last until June 15, when daily construction on one of Newark's three runways will transition to Saturday-only work. At that time, the cap will be increased to 34 arrivals and 34 departures per hour, except on Saturdays. Prior to construction, Newark allowed approximately 40 landings and 40 departures per hour. For flyers, schedule trimming should provide protection from last-second flight changes. But flights that have already been booked or are booked well ahead of travel could be subject to early cancellations. Based on how United has changed its Newark schedule over the past few weeks, transatlantic flights are unlikely to be trimmed. The large majority of United's schedule cuts have been made on domestic routes with at least three daily frequencies, OAG data shows. Parri Mahan Possessing such information is one way that travel advisors have been able to assist clients. Mahan said that she recently fielded concerns from clients who are slated to fly from Newark to Nice, France in September for a cruise and then back to Newark from Zurich. She sought to assuage their concerns by explaining that airlines haven't been canceling their Newark-to-Europe flights. For extra measure, she provided information on EU rules that mandate airlines to pay compensation in cases of flight cancellations or long delays. Advisors are also easing the pain for clients when Newark flights are cut. Ardis said that when a client's flight to Buffalo was canceled, United automatically rebooked her on a one-stop itinerary through Washington Dulles. But Ardis interceded and got the client moved to a nonstop four hours earlier as well as an upgrade to first class and a travel credit. Sally Jane Smith Still, calls from concerned clients keep coming to New Jersey-based advisors. Sally Jane Smith, owner of TravelSmiths in Point Pleasant, N.J., queried her 23 agents on May 20. Several said they had fielded recent calls asking about itinerary changes away from Newark. Ultimately, those clients decided to stick with the airport. "My team has been tracking this constantly, so they were definitely proactive," Smith said. Nevertheless, some flyers are switching away from Newark. Peter Vlitas, executive vice president of partner relations for Internova Travel Group, said the agency has seen a trend of flyers looking for other airports, especially clients who have significant time constraints. Melissa Sanchez Sanchez said she has a client booked on a Newark flight in mid-June who is watching for United to extend its Newark travel waiver so he can change to a different airport. And Smith said she rebooked two client groups headed to Cancun for departure from Philadelphia soon after the Newark problems began. "They just didn't want the hassle," she said.
