No standby power means shutdowns could hit any airport, says Heathrow CEO

Record ID: 1985982

  • Title: No standby power means shutdowns could hit any airport, says Heathrow CEO
  • Date: 22nd March 2025
  • Summary: MUTTENZ, SWITZERLAND, (RECENT - MARCH 3, 2025) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FORMER FIFA PRESIDENT, SEPP BLATTER’S CAR PARKING IN FRONT OF THE SWISS CRIMINAL COURT BLATTER STEPPING OUT OF THE CAR AND SAYING HELLO (SOUNDBITE) (French) FORMER FIFA PRESIDENT, SEPP BLATTER SAYING: “Hello everyone. I am a very positive man.” BLATTER ENTERING COURT VARIOUS
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: CEO heathrow airport
  • Location: LOCATION UNKNOWN / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: LOCATION UNKNOWN / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: UK
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Europe
  • Reuters ID: LVA005087122032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Operations were back to normal at London's Heathrow Airport, its chief executive said on Saturday (March 22), but admitted the airport would need "a separate standby power plant" to avoid another shutdown in the future.
    Thomas Woldbye made the comments to the BBC a day after a fire at an electrical substation knocked out Heathrow's power supply, shutting down Europe's busiest airport and causing global travel chaos.
    Some flights were cancelled or delayed on Saturday as the travel industry scrambled to reroute passengers and fix battered airline schedules, but Woldbye said such disruptions were normal on a busy weekend.
    Woldbye said he did not know of another airport with an independent standby power supply that could power the entire facility, adding that any other airport would have to shutdown if it experienced a similar loss of power.
    Facing the prospect of a financial hit costing tens of millions of pounds and a likely fight over who should pay, the travel industry has questioned how such crucial infrastructure could fail without a backup.
    (Production: Steve Hignett, Liliana Ciobanu)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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