Latest news with #passengerdisruption
The Independent
23-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Heathrow reveals huge financial impact of fire that forced airport's closure
Heathrow Airport is expected to incur costs in the "low tens of millions" of pounds following its chaotic March closure, chief executive Thomas Woldbye has revealed. The blaze, which started late on March 20, halted operations at the west London airport until approximately 6pm on March 21. More than 270,000 air passenger journeys were disrupted by the incident. The airport group awaits a report from energy watchdog Ofgem to finalise its findings, which will determine if it can claim compensation from National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET). Mr Woldbye added the group had "learnings" to take away from the incident. A report into events clarified that Mr Woldbye had been asleep with his phone on silent as the overnight decision to close the airport was taken. He said: '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,' he said. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he denied misjudging what it meant to be the head of one of the world's busiest airports. Ofgem has launched an official enforcement investigation into NGET after a report found the fire that caused the shutdown of Heathrow was due to a preventable technical fault. The report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) said an 'elevated moisture reading' had been found in oil samples at the North Hyde substation in west London in July 2018, but that action was not taken to replace electrical insulators known as bushings. The comments came as the airport revealed half-year profits fell by more than a third despite seeing passenger numbers soar to a record high. The group posted a 37.2 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £203 million for the six months to June 30 as its costs surged, partly driven by a higher wage bill after last autumn's budget measures.
Independent Singapore
29-06-2025
- Independent Singapore
Overweight tourist forcibly removed from plane after he demands emergency exit seat
Photos: CollinRugg/X A Lion Air flight departing from Bangkok experienced an unexpected delay after a passenger became disruptive over a seating issue, forcing authorities to remove him from the aircraft. According to reports from international media outlets including the New York Post, The Mirror, and Viral Press, a British male passenger, described as overweight, expressed dissatisfaction with the legroom in his assigned window seat. Noticing that the emergency exit row offered more space, he requested to be moved but his request was denied by the flight attendants. Frustrated, the man reportedly lost control of his temper and argued with the cabin crew. The situation escalated until law enforcement officers were called in. Footage shared on X showed the passenger, wearing a bright orange Garfield shirt, being forcibly removed from his seat. In the video, his arms are bound as several officers drag him down the plane aisle and escort him off the aircraft. A fellow passenger who captured the video shared that at first, he thought the plane couldn't take off because the man was sick, but it turned out that he just felt that the economy class seats were too crowded and insisted on changing to the emergency exit seat. See also China threatens retaliation for US curbs on 'propaganda' outlets The disturbance caused by the passenger's outburst led to a significant delay, with the flight departing nearly an hour later than scheduled.
