Real reason Heathrow boss slept through shutdown after electrical fire revealed

HEATHROW’S boss slept through its shutdown over an electrical fire as his phone was on silent, an inquiry has found.

Thomas Woldbye was tucked up in bed as senior staff were left to suspend flights.

PAThomas Woldbye slept through the Heathrow shutdown because his phone was on silent[/caption]

The chief executive’s phone was on a bedside table but he was not woken by a succession of emergency alarms and calls.

He played no part in the shutdown decision, which caused disruption for 270,000 passengers.

The £5million-a-year boss told the inquiry he was unaware his phone had gone to silent mode but was said to have expressed “deep regret at not being contactable”.

He added: “Heathrow exists to serve our passengers and airlines, which made the decision to close the airport in March because of the North Hyde substation fire tough, but necessary.

“We hope that all our stakeholders understand this was done to protect the safety of passengers and colleagues.

“We’re truly sorry for the disrupted journeys, and we understand the impact this had on so many of our customers.”

The blaze in a West London substation on March 21 knocked out power to the airport.

With Mr Woodbye, 60, snoozing, it was left to chief operating officer Javier Echave to order the next day’s shutdown, grounding 1,300 flights.

But the airport’s internal inquiry concluded: “Heathrow made the right decisions in ex­ceptionally difficult circumstances.”

EPAThe blaze in a West London substation on March 21 knocked out power to the airport[/caption]

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