Latest news with #substationfire
Daily Mail
01-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Heathrow boss who slept through airport fire shut-down should never have had phone on silent, says rival airline chief
The boss of Heathrow who was unaware of that a substation fire shut down one of the world's busiest airports should 'never' have had his phone on silent, according to an airline chief. A review into the fire which took place on March 20 into March 21 and disrupted more than 200,000 passenger journeys found that the airport's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, had been called when the fire broke out but did not answer his phone. The Kelly Review concluded that Mr Woldbye's phone was muted 'without him being aware' and that he only knew of the fire at 6.45am - more than seven hours after it broke out at 11.20pm. Chief operating officer Javier Echave attempted to call his boss 'several times' during the night and raised an F24 alarm to activate emergency command response teams, but did not hear back. As detailed in the 75-page report, Mr Woldbye - who was paid more than £3million last year - said he felt 'deep regret' at not being contactable during the incident. But Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said he would 'never' have made the same mistake when speaking today at an industry event, as first reported by The Telegraph. Mr Weiss said: 'The last time I put my phone on silent when running an airline was – never. I think all of my colleagues would share that observation. This is a 24/7 job and safety and security are the number one priority.' The Virgin boss added that Heathrow should begin compensating airlines for the cost of the shutdown in the wake of the Kelly Review. Emirates Airline chief Sir Tim Clark also said he was 'shocked' by Heathrow's 'floundering' response to the fire, adding that Emirates 'never close their eyes' to such problems potentially arising. Meanwhile International Air Transport Association CEO Willie Walsh said the shutdown of Heathrow showed Britain to be 'vulnerable' under Labour leadership. A Heathrow spokesman told MailOnline: 'The Kelly review, as well as independent legal counsel assisting the panel, had access to all Heathrow decision-makers and company papers and published a well-documented and robust report containing a number of findings and recommendations. 'The review concluded that while some detailed elements of our response could be sharpened, the overall approach to prioritise safety was the right one and the right decisions were taken on the day. We have accepted all the recommendations in full.' The report was led by former Labour Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly and concluded that closing the airport was the 'correct' and 'essential' decision. Ms Kelly said the fire at the North Hyde substation had been 'unprecedented' and that waiting until March 22 to fully re-open was wise, given that safety checks needed to be carried out before full service could resume. 'The evidence confirms that Heathrow made the right decisions in exceptionally difficult circumstances,' she said in a statement accompanying the report. 'Whilst the disruption was significant, alternative choices on the day would not have materially changed the outcome. 'The airport had contingency plans in place, and the report highlights that further planned investment in energy resilience will be key to reducing the impact of any similar events in the future.' The shutdown of the substation prompted questions over why Heathrow was not prepared to cope in the event of a total power loss and why it took 18 hours for power to be fully restored. But the report revealed that the power loss crippled vital safety systems and infrastructure including an airport fire station. Security staff in Terminal 2 had to use the torches on their phones to see at night because of the total loss of power. The report revealed that the power loss crippled vital safety systems and infrastructure including an airport fire station London Fire Brigade officers also told Heathrow they would not be able to safely bring the fire under control for at least six hours. Interim findings published by the National Energy System Operator earlier this month found power was restored to a chaos-stricken Heathrow around seven hours before flights were allowed to resume. The electricity was switched back on for all four terminals - Terminal One no longer being in use - at 10.56am on March 21, almost 12 hours after the fire broke out. Heathrow said the report raises 'important questions' for National Grid - which owns the substation that caught fire - and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), which is responsible for power distribution in the area. In all, 1,273 flights were disrupted by the near-24-hour closure with economists estimating that the fire cost the UK up to £4.8million in lost tourism alone. But not a single Heathrow employee interviewed for the review disagreed with the decision to close. While the review was largely positive about the airport's response to the fire, Ms Kelly issued 28 recommendations for Heathrow to consider. They include firming up relations with SSEN - which is responsible for local power distribution - as well as ensuring emergency lighting is in place across terminals, and assessing whether to invest in additional back-up generators. There is also a recommendation to have a 'second means of contact' for key individuals, such as CEO Mr Woldbye. Heathrow Chairman Lord Deighton said after the report: 'The Kelly Review is thorough with clear recommendations which the management team will be taking forward. 'This was an unprecedented set of circumstances, but the learnings identified in the Kelly Review will make Heathrow more fit for the future.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cause of Heathrow shutdown fire remains unknown, says system operator
Investigators have failed to find the root cause of the substation fire that shut Heathrow airport in March, six weeks after the government ordered an 'urgent' investigation. A preliminary report from the National Energy System Operator (Neso) ruled out any suspicious activity behind the outage which cut power to the airport, affecting more than 1,350 flights and almost 300,000 passengers. But the state-owned body admitted that the 'root cause of the fire', which also left about 67,000 homes without power, still 'remains unknown'. The system operator has promised to continue its investigation into the maintenance history and design of the 57-year-old power substation in west London that caught fire on 20 March to establish whether it was meeting its legal requirements. It will also examine the configurations of the airport's private electricity network, which took hours to repower after the outage, even as two nearby substations continued to operate as normal. Heathrow took a further seven hours to open after the power was restored, according to the report, meaning flights were disrupted for almost 24 hours after the fire broke out. Neso said a dedicated team reviewed more than 600 pieces of evidence from the companies involved in the incident to inform its interim report. It expects to publish a final report by the end of June. In late March, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, ordered the system operator to undertake an 'urgent' investigation into what happened and provide its initial findings within six weeks of the blaze. On Thursday, he said: 'We now await the full report to understand what happened and learn lessons to strengthen UK energy resilience and protect our critical national infrastructure.' Heathrow airport said the report raised questions for National Grid – the owner of the substation that caught fire – and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), responsible for power distribution in the area. A spokesperson for the airport said: 'Further clarity on how the fire started and why two transformers were subsequently impacted can help ensure greater resilience for the UK's energy grid moving forward.' The energy companies involved in the outage will also face an inquiry by the industry's regulator, Ofgem, which is responsible for approving the investments and revenues of electricity network operators. Heathrow will also launch an internal investigation into its resilience, led by Ruth Kelly, the former secretary of state for transport and independent board member of the airport. Executives from the energy and airline industries were summoned within days of the outage to appear before parliament's cross-party transport select committee. Heathrow's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, apologised for the disruption. He told MPs that a power outage on this scale had been seen as a 'very low probability event' and the airport had paid for a 'supposedly resilient' supply. National Grid and SSE said in separate statements that they would continue to work closely with Neso in its investigation and looked forward to the full report.
Times
09-05-2025
- Times
Heathrow flights resumed hours after power restored following fire
Power to Heathrow's terminals was restored seven hours before flights were able to resume after the substation fire that shut down the airport in March. An interim report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) said electricity to the four passenger terminals was restarted by 10.56am on March 21. Flights from Europe's busiest airport did not resume until 6pm. It also said the root cause of the fire at the nearby North Hyde substation 'remains unknown'. The fire started in the late evening on March 20, plunging the airport into darkness. Back-up generators worked correctly but only provided enough power to keep vital safety systems live. The airport requires the same amount of power as a 'small city', bosses said in the wake of the
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cause of Heathrow fire unknown despite six-week investigation
The cause of a substation fire which triggered the shut down of Heathrow airport remains unknown despite a six-week inquiry, according to an interim report. A preliminary report by Britain's energy system operator said forensic work was still under way into the incident which saw 270,000 passengers stranded in March. However, it added that police had 'found no evidence to suggest that the incident was suspicious in nature'. Around 1,300 flights were cancelled following the fire which happened just before midnight on March 20. It took almost 24 hours for the airport to be up and running again. However, the report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) found power was restored to Heathrow airport's terminals seven hours before flights resumed on the day it was closed. The flow of electricity to all four of the west London airport's passenger terminals was restarted by 10.56am on March 21. Flights did not resume until approximately 6pm. Neso said power was restored to the 'wider Heathrow Airport Limited network' by 2.23pm which was followed by 'a period of safety checking' to ensure 'safety-critical systems were fully operational prior to passengers arriving at the airport'. The fire happened at the North Hyde substation in Hounslow causing its transformers to shut down, cutting power to part of Heathrow and around 66,000 properties in the surrounding area. The inquiry since then has focused partly on the cause of the fire but also on why a fire in a single substation could have caused the whole of Heathrow to shut down. A Heathrow spokesman said: 'Heathrow welcomes the Neso review's initial report, which raises important questions for National Grid and SSEN that we hope the final report will provide answers to, including the cause of the fire. Further clarity on how the fire started and why two transformers were subsequently impacted can help ensure greater resilience for the UK's energy grid moving forward.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The National
08-05-2025
- The National
Heathrow blackout: Airport took seven hours to reopen after restoring power to terminals
Power was restored to Heathrow Airport's terminals around seven hours before flights resumed on the day it was closed by a substation fire, an investigation has found. More than 270,000 air passenger journeys were disrupted by the closure on March 21, which led to questions over the airport's energy resilience. An interim report by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has found the flow of electricity to all four of the West London airport's passenger terminals was restarted by 10.56am that day. Flights did not resume until approximately 6pm. The root cause of the fire that led to the airport being closed for almost an entire day is still unknown, the report said. The Metropolitan Police confirmed on March 25 that it had 'found no evidence to suggest that the incident was suspicious in nature'. NESO was commissioned by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem to conduct a review into the power cut, with a final report due by the end of June, including recommendations and lessons for the future. The fire sparked huge disruption to global air travel with flights cancelled and passengers stranded. More than 1,000 flights were affected, scrambling the travel plans of tens of thousands of people including passengers in the UAE. The closure paralysed one of the world's biggest travel hubs, with about 120 flights already in the air either turned back or landing in other countries such as France, Ireland and the Netherlands. At the time, the government said it would 'look harder' into how airports can withstand shocks. Heathrow said that as an energy consumer on the scale of a small city it could not possibly have backup power for all its operations. Heathrow is the largest airport in Europe and connects to more than 230 destinations. It serves more than 82 million passengers a year, and over 26 per cent of the UK's exports by value. The report noted that when the fire broke out, power was lost to some airport terminals and some shared systems required for overall airport operations. The airfield ring generators automatically started to maintain supplies to the runways and essential safety systems, maintaining the ability to land aircraft safely. Three independent electricity points each supply different areas and systems across the airport. These were reconfigured to restore the power, but this takes significant network switching, and before the event was understood to take a number of hours to enact. The decision to close the airport was taken at 1.11am. Engineers began to restore supply to some terminals by 2am. By 6.25am low voltage was restored across the airport network and by 10:56am power was restored to all terminals. That was followed by 'a period of safety checking' to ensure 'safety critical systems were fully operational before passengers arriving at the airport'. Re-energisation of the wider network was completed by 2.23pm. The report set out the sequence of events at the nearby North Hyde electricity substation. It said that on Thursday, 20 March at 11.21pm, one of three supergrid transformers tripped, followed by an associated circuit connecting it to the wider transmission system. It was later confirmed to have caught fire. Another transformer then tripped, resulting in loss of connection to the third transformer. The consequence was the loss of all electricity supplies, impacting thousands of customers including Heathrow Airport. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband welcomed the interim report on Thursday, pointing out the summary of the incident ruled out the possibility of suspicious activity. 'We now await the full report to understand what happened and learn lessons to strengthen UK energy resilience and protect our critical national infrastructure,' he said. Heathrow said the report raises 'important questions' for the National Grid – which owns the substation that caught fire – and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), which is responsible for power distribution in the area. A spokesperson said: 'Heathrow welcomes the NESO review's initial report, which raises important questions for National Grid and SSEN that we hope the final report will provide answers to, including the cause of the fire. 'Further clarity on how the fire started and why two transformers were subsequently impacted can help ensure greater resilience for the UK's energy grid moving forward.' NESO anticipates that the final report will make findings and recommendations on the resilience of energy infrastructure; the response and restoration of energy infrastructure; and the resilience of critical national infrastructure to energy disruption. Fintan Slye, NESO's chief executive, said the power cut affected around 67,000 customers, a number of commercial customers and Heathrow Airport. 'It is important that the right lessons are learnt from this incident to prevent future instances where possible and to manage them effectively when they do occur,' he said.
