CGTN Europe discussed this with aviation and tourism analyst Anita Mendiratta
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00:00Let's talk now to Anita Menderati, an expert in aviation.
00:04Anita, good to see you. Welcome.
00:06Well, obviously, not just Chaos for tens of thousands of passengers,
00:09but for UK businesses, too, that relies so heavily on Heathrow for cargo.
00:17Absolutely. And I think it's really important that you're mentioning the cargo side of things,
00:21because 95% of the commercial aircraft that come into Heathrow have cargo in the belly of the plane.
00:27And we're looking at about 4,000 tons of cargo every single day going through Heathrow,
00:32which, by implication, if that's fragile cargo, being pharmaceuticals, perishables,
00:37agriculture-based products, this puts it at risk if timings are pushed out.
00:42But I think what's also very important about this is it once again highlights,
00:46firstly, the dependency that the world has on aviation for connection of people, of places,
00:52of products, and the importance of the aviation ecosystem.
00:57Because exactly as you've been emphasizing in terms of how this is impacting passengers and cargo,
01:02what's critical is that, as we know, Heathrow has a curfew.
01:06It goes in the curfew from late at night into early, early morning hours.
01:11And thankfully, the airport was announced to be closing at quarter to 3 a.m. this morning.
01:16That allowed Heathrow the opportunity to mobilize the entire aviation network
01:21to look at how does it then start reallocating where aircraft can land,
01:26which aircraft should actually stop from being in departure mode,
01:30and those that have departed, how do you then return them back to base?
01:34But to be able to do that and to be able to provide everyone with a sense of,
01:38up until midnight tonight, nothing is going to happen, allows for some degree of planning,
01:44allows for some degree of preparation of remobilization.
01:49But it doesn't take away the frustration and the anger that is understandable for one person times 200,000 times.
01:56One day, presumably, isn't going to fix it.
01:59The disruption for business and passengers coming to that is going to roll in, presumably, to many days.
02:06No, there's no question about it.
02:07Because we have the losses from today, plus what was already on schedule for tomorrow and right through the weekend.
02:13So the knock-on effect is immense.
02:15And that's why no airport in the world ever wants to announce that they're having to shut their doors.
02:20This is where, exactly as you were saying in terms of the cost to Heathrow,
02:25the cost is not only financial, the reputational damage is immense.
02:29Willie Walsh, who used to be the CEO of British Airways and then of the IAG group,
02:34now the head of the International Air Transport Association, as you've stated,
02:38is very clear on the shortcomings of Heathrow and the degree to which Heathrow has sadly let down both the cargo side of things and passengers.
02:48So this is an unfortunate one for Heathrow, because it really is about saying,
02:52how can one of the world's most connected airports for travel and for trade be so vulnerable to one situation of energy lossage?
03:02And what is the answer to your question?
03:03I mean, how does Heathrow get into a position like this where seemingly there is no backup generation or contingency planning?
03:12Indeed, there was a backup generator and there's debate, there's dialogue about did it operate, did it not?
03:17I think what's important about this is that the shock of the day has worn off quite a bit.
03:23I mean, there's frustration, no question, there's anger.
03:25But the shock that people woke up to this morning has moved on.
03:29It's now focusing on the why.
03:31Why did this happen?
03:32Who's responsible?
03:33Why are we looking at a situation of exactly, as you say, one energy framework being able to collapse an airport?
03:40What we need to focus on first and in tandem, but very much not losing priority, is the how.
03:46How do we get people home safely?
03:48How do we get people moving again?
03:50How do we get cargo moving again?
03:52So as much as we need to focus on the why this happened, at the same time,
03:56we can't lose focus on and compassion for those that are currently in a very, very difficult position.
04:03We have passengers, airline crew and aircraft that are in many places around the world where they shouldn't be, quite honestly.
04:11And this is where the airports are going to struggle from the point of view of the financial implications of the cost of bringing all that back.
04:18But on top of that, there's duty of care.
04:20We have, as you've stated, over 200,000 people who are in a position of being stranded.
04:25That duty of care also needs to be mobilized by the airlines, which they are doing,
04:30to make sure people are accommodated with the food and drink that they require.
04:35Overnight stays are required.
04:37And getting people moving again, even if that means by trade and by road,
04:41I beg your pardon, train and by road, rather than by aircraft.
04:45Anita, good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us.
04:47Anita Menderati, the expert in aviation.