Matthew Wright is joined by LBC reporter Briohny Williams, who is at Heathrow to provide the latest news.
The first flights of the day have taken off at Heathrow as the airport aims for a full day of service after Friday's catastrophic closure.
Heathrow was thrust into chaos on Friday as Europe's busiest airport was brought to a standstill by a substation inferno, with thousands stranded, hundreds of flights cancelled, and over 100 nearby residents evacuated.
Counter-terrorism police are currently leading the investigation into the incident - however the Met says there's currently no indication of foul play.
However, after a day of chaos, a Heathrow spokesperson confirmed this morning that the airport is now "open and fully operational" but warned passengers to check with their airlines.
Listen to the full show on Global Player: https://app.af.globalplayer.com/Br0x/LBCYouTubeListenLive
#matthewwright #heathrow #heathrowairport #flights #travel #travelnews #news #london #uk #uknews #transport #LBC
LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK.
Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/
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The first flights of the day have taken off at Heathrow as the airport aims for a full day of service after Friday's catastrophic closure.
Heathrow was thrust into chaos on Friday as Europe's busiest airport was brought to a standstill by a substation inferno, with thousands stranded, hundreds of flights cancelled, and over 100 nearby residents evacuated.
Counter-terrorism police are currently leading the investigation into the incident - however the Met says there's currently no indication of foul play.
However, after a day of chaos, a Heathrow spokesperson confirmed this morning that the airport is now "open and fully operational" but warned passengers to check with their airlines.
Listen to the full show on Global Player: https://app.af.globalplayer.com/Br0x/LBCYouTubeListenLive
#matthewwright #heathrow #heathrowairport #flights #travel #travelnews #news #london #uk #uknews #transport #LBC
LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK.
Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/
Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
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NewsTranscript
00:00Here's our reporter, Bryony Williams, live from Heathrow.
00:05Well, the lights are back on, there are people moving around, and it's very much
00:10business as normal here at Heathrow this morning. So a stark contrast to yesterday's chaos. Now,
00:16we had a statement from Heathrow Airport earlier this morning saying, if you're due to travel today,
00:22we advise you still contact your airline for the latest information before heading to the airport.
00:28And once again, it's apologised for disruption caused yesterday. So I'm in Terminal 5 and British
00:35Airways expects to put on about 85% of its flights today, because yesterday meant that crew were left
00:42in all the wrong places across the world. And I'm just looking at the screen at the moment,
00:47and there are some flights that are already cancelled. So Boston, Dublin, Berlin, Chicago,
00:53Edinburgh, they've all been cancelled today. But it is relatively calm here. There are people
00:58sat with their luggage, no one seems too annoyed. And people have been arriving at the airport as
01:04usual. And everyone I've spoken to so far has their flight on schedule today. And they say
01:11they're extremely lucky. Here's a few people that I spoke to earlier.
01:14We're here just in time. There was a couple of delays on the M25. But apart from that,
01:18it's all been perfectly fine. I received an email this morning from BA just to say that,
01:23you know, there might be delays, but we'll let you know if there are any, but nothing's come
01:26through. So it's all good. I'm going back to Austin, Texas, which is home. I was just here
01:31for spring break. My flight was at 10am this morning, but we wanted to get here early in case
01:36it was delayed or there was a lot of chaos. And it's been perfectly fine. So now we're waiting
01:41to check in. I'm 60 on Monday, and we thought we'd be in a gondola in Venice. Well, we are going to
01:46be now, but we thought we were going to be at home for it. Yes. So delighted we're flying. And actually, it's perfect.
01:52I think the chaos of yesterday and people's flights being cancelled has meant that today
01:57will run relatively smoothly. I mean, passengers that I spoke to here yesterday were getting kind
02:03of dribs and drabs of information. They didn't know what flights they were going to be put on.
02:08They didn't even know what hotels they were going to be staying at. I spoke to a couple,
02:11actually, who just decided to cancel the holiday altogether. So I do feel that the kind of chaos
02:17and confusion of passengers yesterday has led to the slight serenity of today. I mean, there are
02:25still going to be lots of disruptions. Lots of the airlines have warned that it won't be
02:31completely smooth sailing today. But at least at the moment, it all seems relatively back to
02:38normal here this morning. Briony Williams, I don't think I'll be the only person listening
02:42to your report that is going to think that's absolutely impossible. I mean, you've got
02:46to think that's absolutely amazing and well done to everybody involved. I'm reading reports of
02:52people that didn't actually make it back to the UK at all yesterday. They ended up in Spain. But
02:56it's good to know that today's travellers are facing what sounds like a normal service.
03:00Meanwhile, we've got counter-terror police leading the investigation into the fire,
03:04responsible for cancelling more than 1,300 flights, 300,000 passengers affected,
03:08knock-on effects expected for days, although Heathrow sounds good. We've no idea yet what
03:13caused the fire. Understandably, major infrastructure is drawn in. All options
03:17are being investigated. It sounds like something like 20,000 litres of oil caught fire inside the
03:23transformer. And I know, because I know the area quite well, that people were reporting a sort of
03:27acrid smell in the air. But the authorities said that the quality of the air posed no danger.
03:33But even before the flames were out, some were pointing fingers as well as asking important
03:38questions. The International Air Transport Association said this was yet another case of
03:43Heathrow letting down both travellers and airlines. But I can't deny I was drawn to the comments of
03:49Willie Walsh, the association's DG, who asked, and I'm quoting directly, how is it that critical
03:54infrastructure is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative? If that is
03:59the case, then it's a clear planning failure by the airport. And while I think it's clear that
04:05Mr Walsh has got an angle, the fact that the world's second busiest international airport
04:10appears so vulnerable in these anxious times, I think, should be of concern to us all.
04:15We are worryingly dependent on just a few major hubs as far as air travel goes, all in the
04:20southeast, despite having scores of airports around the country. There's been talk of decentralising
04:25air transport in the UK for a while now. Maybe these policies need to be ramped up the agenda,
04:31above any ambition the government might have for a third runway at Heathrow, a move that would
04:36increase passenger numbers from around 100 million a year to 140 million a year. And I can't be the
04:41only one wondering this morning how yesterday's nightmare would have felt if there'd been a third
04:47more planes, a third more passengers to deal with. If you work in the airline industry, give us a
04:52call. I'd love to hear from you. 0345 6060 973, the number for your thoughts. Some of the passengers
05:00I saw interviewed as they got off the plane spoke of their fear when the pilot first broke the news.
05:05And I know more airports, more air travel may be anathema to the climate change lobby, and I
05:09understand their position. But as long as we have air travel, yesterday's incident must surely sound
05:16alarm bells for the further expansion of Heathrow, even amongst those who favour the idea. Does
05:21anyone actually favour the idea, apart from Rachel Reeves, I wonder? And one last thing before we go
05:27to the phones. We talked a bit about the pros and cons of dynamic pricing last weekend. That's
05:32when the price goes up, the more people want the same thing. Cheltenham races we're talking about
05:36and how the high prices might have got rid of the yob element there. But in a time of crisis,
05:41hotel charges went through the roof as news of all those cancelled flights got out there. The
05:46cheapest room at a Best Western London Heathrow Aerial Hotel was an executive double. That cost
05:52£72.25 next week. Last night, £650. Same at the Holiday Inn London, Heathrow Bath Road,
06:01where the cheapest rooms, a Queen standard, a single standard and a standard were all priced
06:06at £541 on Friday. Next week, you can get that room for £87. What can you say? Rampant
06:18profiteering at the expense of other people's distress. Makes me sick. What do we think about
06:24Heathrow? Is it too vulnerable? Do we need to decentralise air travel away from London and
06:30the South East? 0345 606 0973.