UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has stated that he is “deeply concerned” and “there are questions” after Heathrow Airport’s shutdown last Friday.
The airport was closed to all flights until 6pm on the day after a fire at a nearby electricity substation, resulting in more than 1,000 flights being cancelled.
Speaking on Monday, Sir Keir stated that he is “deeply concerned about what happened on Friday. Clearly there are questions that need to be answered in relation to what happened on Friday.”
The Energy Secretary Ed Miliband launched an investigation shortly after the incident, which will be carried out by the independent National Energy System Operator (NESO). “NESO’s investigation will support efforts to build a clear picture of the circumstances surrounding this incident and the UK’s energy resilience more broadly so that it’s prevented from ever happening again,” the UK government said in a statement.
“There’s an internal review but the Secretary of State has also ordered an investigation so that we can get to the bottom of this,” Starmer continued.
“But am I concerned about it? Yes, I am. Do I think there are questions to answer? Yes, I do. That’s why we’ve put this investigation in place.
“I don’t want to see an airport as important as Heathrow going down in the way it did on Friday, so I’m not comfortable with that for one second.”
Heathrow has also launched its own internal review into its handling of the situation, which will be led by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly, an independent member of the airport’s board.
“Heathrow regrets the disruption this caused. We hope that all those affected understand that the decision was made in order to prioritise the safety of our passengers and colleagues,” Heathrow’s chairman Paul Deighton said. “We are committed to finding any potential learnings from this unprecedented incident.”
In a statement on Monday, Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: “Last week saw thousands of people rapidly and safely respond to a problem that none of them had ever faced before. Our decisions resulted in disruption – and for that we are sorry – and I hope that people appreciate we did it for the safety of our passengers. But inside and outside the airport, people who are highly trained in what they do made sure that within less than 24 hours, one of the world’s most important pieces of travel infrastructure was back to full and safe operation from a standing start – we operated a full schedule this weekend.
“Any incident like this should result in investigations and reviews of all the relevant systems and processes. This event is no different and any lessons will be learned.
