3 days ago
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Britain’s aviation watchdog will review the rules on “resilience” after the closure of Heathrow caused by a blaze at an electricity substation.
Europe’s largest airport was closed in the early hours of Friday morning after the blaze at the Hayes substation in west London hit electricity supplies. No planes were allowed to take off or land, causing diversions which affected about 1,300 flights and roughly 250,000 passengers. Some flights resumed on Friday evening.
As part of a review of the airport ahead of the next price control period, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it would “carefully consider the rules on resilience” after the airport’s shutdown.
Separate to this review, the CAA said it remained in close contact with Heathrow. It said it would support the national energy system operator’s review and would take into account its outcomes, alongside the results of the airport’s own investigation, in “considering whether it should take further steps under Heathrow’s licence”.
Earlier this week, the chief executive of National Grid said there had been enough power for Heathrow to remain open during the entire period it was shut down. John Pettigrew said two other substations that served Heathrow were working and could have supplied the airport with all the power it needed to stay open.
Airlines could take Heathrow to court over the closure. A body representing more than 90 airlines using the airport has said there may be a case for legal action if a settlement over the costs incurred from Friday’s closure is not reached.
In its review, the CAA will set incentives for Heathrow to invest efficiently and provide a high level of service for passengers, with targets for quality of service. It will also review the regulatory model that applies to Heathrow as part of its expansion, namely the development of a third runway which has been championed by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
This review will look at how to ensure strong incentives for the “efficient delivery of the substantial costs involved in expansion and how to best protect the interests of consumers”, the CAA said. This will allow work on capacity expansion to proceed on a more flexible basis and timetable.
The authority expects constructive engagement between Heathrow and airlines alongside broader discussions on the expansion. Heathrow is expected to deliver its business plan by July which will then be assessed by the regulator.
