Heathrow

[spot]

I'm not even going to check. It doesn't matter whether I get this right or not.

But I assume Heathrow is a company of some sort?

That it necessarily has a board of directors? And that the board will therefore have a Chair?

And I take it the news today that Heathrow has been closed for business for the entire day (because it turns out to be dependent on one single off-site electricity substation) is in fact true. And the consequent cancellation of thousands of flights worldwide is a direct consequence.

Before anyone tries to find out how it happened, what occurred at the substation, which draughtsman drew up the location of the wires feeding the electricity into the airport, how much it saved the company to rely on a third party supplier - before any of that - the Chairman of the Board absolutely must, today, before the weekend arrives, resign. I don't care whether they were appointed last week, last year or back in the seventies, the Chairman of the Board must step down instantly, while apologizing with as low and prolonged a bow to the cameras as their frame can withstand, with the rest of the board bowing likewise to their left and right. Nobody else, not the CEO, not the head of maintenance, not the cleaners - the Chairman of the Board. Because nothing else will adequately express the utter disbelief and shame the world deserves to see on their face.


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... est-london

[Bryn Mawr]

Single point of failure, zero backup = big problem.

[spot]

Their excuse - seriously - is that they could degrade safely until there were no Heathrow-bound planes still in the air.

That's not an airport, that's a trial health and safety report by an intern looking for a three-month extension.

[spot]

The chief executive of the National Grid has confirmed power was available to keep Heathrow open throughout Friday's shutdown.

In an interview with the Financial Times, John Pettigrew said the fire that knocked out a substation was a "unique event", but that two other substations remained operational and capable of powering the airport in west London.

Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye had said on Friday that the shutdown was not caused by a lack of power, but was due to the time it took to switch from the damaged substation to the other two.

The airport is under pressure from airlines to explain why flights were suspended for 18 hours after the fire in the early hours of Friday morning.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjy4m0n1exo

Thomas Woldbye, as CEO, is not a scapegoat for the Chair. He is, in practical terms, the single most responsible and powerful individual in the company's executive structure. He needs a row of news cameras in front of him, a straggle of other board members to his left and right, and to take leave of public life with as deeply heartfelt an apology for the entire corporation as he's capable of expressing. That's what he's paid for. This is the greatest worldwide aviation outage in fifteen years and unlike the Eyjafjallajökull Volcanic Eruption of April 2010 it was due solely to operational incompetence on Woldbye's watch. No golden parachute, no peerage, just the bow and resignation.

[spot]

The boss of a group representing airlines told a group of MPs on Wednesday that he spoke to Heathrow on 15 March about his concerns and again on 19 March.

Heathrow Airline Operators' Committee boss Nigel Wicking said he raised cases of "theft of wire and cable around some of the power supply" which he said temporarily took out runway lights, which are critical to passenger safety,

Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye apologised to the nearly 300,000 passengers whose journeys were disrupted by the closure on 21 March.

He offered his "deepest regrets" adding that the "situation was unprecedented". The airport was shutdown after a fire at an electrical substation.

Speaking to MPs on the transport committee, Mr Wicking said the temporary failure of the runway lights which he noticed before the fire "obviously made me concerned, and as such I'd raised the point".

"I wanted to understand better the overall resilience of the airport."

He added: "It is the most expensive airport in the world, with regard passenger charges, so from our perspective, that means we should actually have the best service, we should have the best infrastructure."

He said he had spoken to the Team Heathrow director on 15 March about his concerns - six days before the fire - and the chief operating officer and chief customer officer on 19 March.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdde00r6e8ro

It takes a few days for the background to emerge.

[Zenin000]

I get why everyone’s angry and wants someone at the top to take the fall, but maybe they should first figure out what went wrong and share a clear plan

[spot]

I get why everyone’s angry and wants someone at the top to take the fall, but maybe they should first figure out what went wrong and share a clear plan

I suspect nobody in the management chain was charged with checking resilience, and the buck should stop somewhere adequately high to match the damage done to Heathrow's reputation if nothing else. I'm not angry, I'm annoyed at the complaisance implied by the chap who just went to bed instead of navigating the fallout. He has no business being employed again anywhere more substantial than a car forecourt.