By Pushkala Aripaka and Yamini Kalia
(Reuters) -Britain’s aviation watchdog will consider Heathrow airport’s resilience rules as part of a regular review, it said on Thursday, following a closure last week that disrupted global flight schedules and stranded thousands of passengers.
London’s Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, rocked the travel industry last Friday when it shut down after a huge fire at a nearby electrical substation cut its power.
The closure has sparked widespread criticism of the airport’s back-up plans and prompted reviews at Heathrow and National Grid, which operates Britain’s power lines. Heathrow has defended its decision to shut down operations.
The Civil Aviation Authority said its review would, as usual, look into many areas of Heathrow’s functioning and development, including investments, airline charges, capacity expansion plans and preparedness to handle a crisis.
“The review will allow for efficient investment that will deliver benefits for consumers, by incentivising efficiency and setting targets for quality of service,” it said.
The watchdog added it would “carefully consider the rules on resilience” following the March 21 closure.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We share the government’s ambition to expand and increase our capacity to trade, connect and do business with the world.”
“We need to work with ministers on the necessary policy changes, including ongoing dialogue about adjustments to the regulatory framework for a third runway,” the spokesperson added in a statement to Reuters.
A report by the Financial Times earlier this month said the airport was weighing a shorter third runway to cut costs.
The CAA also said it was in close contact with all parties over the March 21 shutdown and would consider what steps to take next, unrelated to the operational review.
Police have said the fire was not a criminal matter.
The CAA’s review will cover Heathrow’s operations and finances from 2027 to 2031, with service-based targets previously part of the regulatory framework as well.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru. Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mark Potter)
