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Heathrow boss to be hauled in and quizzed by MPs following airport shutdown
24 March 2025, 15:31 | Updated: 24 March 2025, 16:36
The Chairman of the Transport Select Committee has told LBC they will be launching an inquiry into the travel chaos at Heathrow Airport.
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LBC has been told that the boss of Heathrow Airport is to be quizzed by MPs next week.
Thomas Woldbye, who is chief executive of the UK’s busiest airport, has been criticised for his handling of Friday’s power outage.
A substation inferno that began during the early hours of the morning resulted in the closure of the airport, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, hundreds of flights cancelled and over 100 nearby residents evacuated.
Ruth Cadbury, the Labour MP who chairs Parliament’s transport committee, has told LBC that her committee “will be having a short inquiry” next week.
Ms Cadbury, who represents Brentford and Isleworth, said “we cannot be so dependent on a single airport for our aviation”.
He also confirmed that she expect Thomas Woldbye to appear in front of the Transport Select Committee next week.
She said “we are also to speak with experts from the energy and grid system to get their take on what happened”.
“We want to Understand more about the power systems and where the failure might have been”.
The Labour MP also questioned whether a third runway at Heathrow should still go ahead after the disruption.
“It adds yet another issue of concern.
"On top of the already congested skies over London and the South East of England, on top of concerns that growth at Heathrow and the South East just takes flights and business away from our regional airports, and the additional serious noise, plus the associated noise and pollution”.
