A BODY representing dozens of airlines has threatened Heathrow with legal action, after the airport was closed following a huge blaze at a local substation.
The 18-hour shutdown on Friday wreaked havoc for 250,000 passengers due to set off on around 1,300 flights.
APA fire broke out at the North Hyde electrical substation near the Heathrow Airport on Thursday night[/caption]
PAHeathrow Airport CEO Thomas Woldbye issuing a statement following the disruption[/caption]
ReutersSmoke rising from the electrical substation a day after it caught fire[/caption]
It is estimated to have cost the airline industry over £60 million.
Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee, which represents more than 90 airlines using Heathrow Airport, has now said it will pursue legal action if its demands for compensation are not met.
Speaking to Sky News, chief executive Nigel Wicking said he hoped the matter could be “amicably settled at some point in time” but that “if we don’t get good enough recourse and repayment in terms of the costs, then yes, there might be a case for legal action”.
He added: “I would hope not. But in some of these situations that’s the only course once you’ve gone through everything else.”
The CEO also claimed there had been an “appalling” lack of communication following the incident – with airlines waiting until midnight on Friday to be informed of whether terminal two would reopen the following day.
He added that this was “not justifiable” given the financial backing behind the airport.
The chaos, which unfolded on Thursday night, saw 25,000 litres of cooling oil ignite in a fireball, although the cause of the blaze is still unknown.
Meanwhile, scores of homes were left without power in the area.
Some flights resumed from the airport on Friday evening, but airlines continued to face chaos as their staff were by that stage scattered across the globe.
On Sunday, National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew claimed two other substations serving the site were working and could have provided sufficient power to keep the busy airport open.
However, Heathrow hit back at the claims, saying the “unprecedented incident” meant it would not have been possible for Heathrow to “operate interrupted”.
A statement added: “As the National Grid’s chief executive, John Pettigrew, noted, he has never seen a transformer failure like this in his 30 years in the industry.
“His view confirms that this was an unprecedented incident and that it would not have been possible for Heathrow to operate uninterrupted.
“Hundreds of critical systems across the airport were required to be safely powered down and then safely and systematically rebooted.
“Given Heathrow’s size and operational complexity, safely restarting operations after a disruption of this magnitude was a significant challenge.
“In line with our airline partners, our objective was to reopen as soon as safely and practically possible after the fire.
“The emergency services and hundreds of airport colleagues worked tirelessly throughout Friday to ensure the safe reopening of the airport.
“Their success meant that over the weekend, we were able to focus on operating a full schedule of over 2500 flights and serving over 400,000 passengers.
“Lessons can and will be learned, which is why we fully support the independent investigation announced by the Government yesterday.”
The Sun has contacted Heathrow Airport for further comment.
EPAPassengers piled up at the airport the day after the closure[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
