Responding to the closure of Heathrow Airport today following a major power failure, Joji Waites, Head of Flight Safety for the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), said:

“BALPA understands this will cause major disruption for thousands of passengers but for those concerned about aircraft still in the air, or otherwise affected by the disruption, pilots are rigorously trained to deal with such situations and every flight is planned with the possibility of a diversion.

“The professionalism and adaptability of both pilots and air traffic controllers, and the resilience of the airspace system in which they operate, ensures that flying remains safe.

“Every flight takes off with at least one formally nominated alternate aerodrome, and sufficient fuel to get there. It gets more complex when mass disruption events like this occur, rather than just a single diversion, because operators have to find a place to land all the displaced aircraft. Thousands of passengers have to be accommodated and aircraft and crew are often in the wrong place, so it is going to take a few days to get the operation back on track. The public can be reassured that professional pilots are fully prepared for a scenario such as this.”