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Qantas uses buses and flights as Heathrow faces power outage and closure

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Qantas uses buses and flights as Heathrow faces power outage and closure
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Vanessa Hudson CEO of Qantas Airways | Official Website

A fire near London Heathrow Airport last week led to a major power outage and the temporary closure of the UK's busiest airport. The incident affected operations for almost 24 hours and forced airlines to divert flights and make quick decisions about passenger transportation.

On Tuesday, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson discussed the airline's handling of the situation at the 2025 Airbus Summit in Toulouse. "We have two flights into Heathrow that land pretty early in the morning, and they were both pretty close when Heathrow closed down. So they diverted to Paris. We were recovered within 24 hours, and we moved the customers that de-boarded in Paris to London via bus, or we got them onto other services if they were going to Europe," Hudson explained.

Qantas opted to transport deplaned passengers from Paris to London by bus—a journey which can take over eight hours. Hudson noted this was the fastest available option given the closure of Heathrow for the duration of the day. "It was quicker to do that, because if you think about it, the aircraft were on the ground and the airport was closed all day. We had buses waiting for them [the passengers], and they got there."

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The closure not only caused immediate disruptions but also resulted in logistical challenges for airlines, scattering crew and disrupting schedules. While the Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee is considering legal action against the airport, Hudson stated that Qantas has ruled out such measures, acknowledging the financial difficulty of the situation: "It's not something that we have considered, but I would say that these events are incredibly costly to airlines."

Hudson also suggested that the episode prompts a need for reflection on redundancy and recovery procedures. "The lessons from these events is that you've got to reflect. The key question is redundancy and recovery and what are the learnings? I'm sure that Heathrow is asking those questions, and any airport around the world should be asking the same questions."

In a related issue, a report from The Sunday Times highlighted a decision by Heathrow's Chief Executive, Thomas Woldbye, to go to sleep shortly after the airport's closure. Hudson supported this approach, stating: "As an airline executive when we've got an issue, we've got a team of people, we've got a crisis management framework, and there will be times that I will sleep through that because you can't stay up for 24 hours. You have to trust and depend on the team around you."

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