Woldbye emphasized that the fire “had been “outside the airport and the consequences had to be addressed.”
“I don’t know of any airports that have a backup supply that can be turned on in minutes to the magnitude of what I experienced yesterday. The same thing happens at other airports,” he said.
Europe’s busiest airport was forced to shut down on Friday after a fire broke out in the previous evening at a nearby electric station, causing a blackout at Heathrow. Media reports say the airport had returned to normal operations on Saturday, but passengers continued to face delays and cancellations.
More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled due to airport closures. This has impacted tens of thousands of travelers in one of the biggest air travel in recent years.
“This is another case of Heathrow dropping both travelers and airlines,” Iata Director Willy Walsh said in a statement Friday. He asked how airports “rely rely on a single power source without an alternative.”
David Omando, former head of the government’s communications headquarters (GCHQ), said he was “shocked” at the length of the airport’s closures.
“Given the importance of Heathrow, I am amazed that the entire airport had to be closed for a day,” Omando told the BBC. “You can understand the confusion while changing into another system, etc., but such a complete failure over a period of a day – and those who know that the confusion will last longer are the embarrassment of the nation,” he said.
When asked by the BBC if he thinks his post should be kept at the helm of the airport, Woldbye said, “If that’s the problem, let others decide.”
