I doubt there are many people in the UK that didn’t suffer power failures over the past few weeks as a result of the recent bad weather, resulting in a widespread flooding and power failures. Christmas Eve saw many facing a Christmas Day with no festive dinner, people trapped in many locations unable to travel anywhere – unless they had a boat, of course! - and many travellers stranded in the country’s airports, including Gatwick which saw police being called to help staff with very upset and angry passengers, many of whom had to wait 12 hours before being told flights were being cancelled following an electricity substation blacking out due to severe flooding.
After 59 arrivals and 62 departures were cancelled, and many other flights diverted to the Gatwick’s South Terminal, the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) decided to investigate. But that wasn’t the end of it as the House of Commons Transport Committee and MPs called the bosses of Gatwick to task and demanded explanations. Stewart Wingate, CEO at Gatwick, appeared in front of MPs to answer questions about Christmas Eve’s problems and wide ranging cancellations caused by the weather, serious flooding and the airport seriously underestimating just how strong the winds were going to be and the effect of the floods.
Wingate said that whilst the floods were the worst seen at Gatwick since 1967, what they did at Gatwick just wasn’t good enough. He told MPs: “We all decided we wanted to go the extra mile. It was a step too far. We did something with the best intentions and we were partially successful. Half of the flights that had been due to depart from the North Terminal did so and all the South Terminal flights got away. We are very sorry about what happened to passengers.”
The transport committee launched a new report, “Ready and waiting? Transport preparations for winter weather,” which addressed the country’s transport system – not just airports – should we suffer from bad weather, issuing a warning the improvements needed to be made to our defences against the storms and winter snow that disrupt our road, air and railway travel. Adding to this, Gatwick’s bosses have announced that despite the £20 million they’ve already spent on their flood defences, they are prepared to spend more and take further action in order to significantly reduce the impact on their passengers… A welcome statement indeed!
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By Oliver Derek