Heathrow faces 'tens of millions' in costs after March fire shutdown

Heathrow Airport faces tens of millions of pounds in costs after a substation fire forced a chaotic shutdown of Britain's busiest airport in March. The airport's chief executive Thomas Woldbye told the PA news agency Heathrow anticipates costs in the 'low tens of millions' after the temporary closure caused by a power outage led to disruption for more than 270,000 passengers.

It came as Heathrow revealed its busiest ever start to the year, with a record 39.9 million passengers travelling through the airport thanks to strong demand for Asia-Pacific and Middle East routes. But its half-year profits still sunk by more than a third to £203million for the six months to the end of June, as costs surged partly as a result of higher wages and national insurance contributions.

Woldbye was found to be asleep with his phone on silent when the overnight decision to close the airport was taken. He said Heathrow had 'learnings' to take on board as a result of the fire. Woldbye added: 'That is one learning and that will not happen again.

'I would have liked to see my personal role play out differently. 'That said, we need to have procedures in place that ensures that this company can take the right decisions at the right time by the right people, no matter what the situation is.

'An organisation like ours has to be able to manage, whether the captain's on the bridge or not.' During an interview with BBC Radio 4 earlier in the day, Woldbye denied misjudging what it meant to be the head of one of the world's busiest airports.

Heathrow now awaits a report from energy watchdog Ofgem to finalise its findings into the incident and discover whether it can claim compensation from National Grid Electricity Transmission. Ofgem has launched an official enforcement investigation into NGET after a report found the fire was the result of a preventable technical fault.

The report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) said 'elevated moisture reading' found in oil samples at the North Hyde substation in west London in July 2018 was not rectified with replacement electrical insulators known as bushings.

It also comes as Heathrow plots a major expansion, including plans for a third runway, to increase its capacity and maintain its status as a global hub. Woldbye told investors on Wednesday Heathrow is still 'delivering on our vision to become an extraordinary airport, fit for the future'.

He added: 'Our new five-year investment plan will mean faster, more reliable journeys, more on-time flights and unlock room to grow - all while delivering better value for customers.

'We will soon submit our long-term expansion plans to the Government, providing the UK with the opportunity to stay competitive, boost jobs and drive nationwide growth. Heathrow has an exciting future ahead and we are ready to get going.'