Airlines threaten to sue Heathrow if not compensated for airport fire shutdown

A body representing more than 90 airlines using Heathrow Airport has said there could be a case for legal action if a settlement is not reached over costs incurred by the airport’s Friday closure. Flight operations at Europe’s biggest airport were thrown into turmoil on Friday, 21 March, as a giant blaze ripped through an electric substation near Heathrow, forcing the airport to close for more than 15 hours. Over 1,300 flights were disrupted by the fire, ruining the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers due to fly. Despite initially telling passengers the airport would be closed all day, Heathrow announced later that some long-haul flights would resume in the evening. The airport was fully operational the next day, the closure had a huge knock-on effect and at least 100 of the 600 flights which would typically have been expected on Saturday were cancelled. Nigel Wicking, the CE of Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee (AOC), which represents more than 90 airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic said there could be a case for legal action over costs incurred when the airport closed if not settled adequately. Speaking to Sky News, Wicking said that he hoped an agreement over the costs from the closure could be “amicably settled at some point in time”. However, he admitted that "if we don't get good enough recourse and repayment in terms of the costs, then yes, there might be a case for legal action". "I would hope not. But in some of these situations that's the only course once you've gone through everything else", he added.<br/>