Disruption at Gatwick Airport Christmas Eve 2013
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Disruption at Gatwick Airport Christmas Eve 2013 Report by David McMillan to the Board of Gatwick Airport Limited 26 February 2014 Biography David McMillan David McMillan is Chair of the Board of Governors of the Flight Safety Foundation. He was Director General of Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates air traffic across 40 European states, from 2008 to 2012. Before that he was UK Director General of Civil Aviation and spoke for Europe on environmental issues at ICAO. Earlier in his career, he led for Government on the establishment of the NATS PPP and was Secretary to the RUCATSE study on airport capacity in South East England. David started his career in the Diplomatic Service and is a fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Transport and the Royal Aeronautical Society. Contents Executive Summary 4 1. Context 6 2. The adequacy of Gatwick Airport’s flood prevention and alleviation planning 12 3. Gatwick Airport’s contingency and resilience planning 18 4. Passenger welfare issues 26 5. Safety and network issues 31 6. Recovery 33 7. Summary of recommendations 36 Annex 1 – Terms of Reference 40 Annex 2 – Events log 41 Annex 3 – Organisations and individuals consulted 45 Annex 4 – Summary statistics of flights at Gatwick Airport on 23, 24 and 25 December 2013 46 Annex 5 – Passenger terminal data 65 Annex 6 – Summary of disruption at Gatwick Airport on 16 October 2013 67 Disruption at Gatwick Airport | Christmas Eve 2013 | Report to the Board of Gatwick Airport Limited | 26 February 2014 3 Executive Summary The United Kingdom is currently passing the majority of airport passengers flew that prevention since the change of ownership in through a winter which has been characterised day, a very significant number of passengers 2009 paid dividends in that the South Terminal by strong winds and exceptional levels of endured poor levels of service and information – which had been seen as at greatest risk of rainfall. According to the Met Office, this winter before seeing their flights either substantially flooding – did not in fact flood. But it is also has seen the highest rainfall levels for almost delayed or, ultimately, cancelled. clear that actual flooding was significantly 250 years in the South East of England. As more severe than expectations based on flood part of this exceptional winter, Gatwick Airport, In response to these events, as a non-executive modelling work. This work should be redone its airlines and passengers were faced with Director of Gatwick Airport Limited, I was asked urgently. In addition, although the runway an extraordinary set of circumstances on by the Board to lead the production of this operated continuously, the loss of facilities in the Christmas Eve, 2013. Very high winds on the Report on the events of the day; and to make North Terminal requires existing flood alleviation day before had left many aircraft out of position; such recommendations as I see fit. The full plans to be accelerated, important new remedial unexpected and unprecedented levels of river Terms of Reference are set out in Annex 1. work to be undertaken and new procedures to flooding led to the loss of three airfield electrical be put in place. sub stations that serve the runway’s lighting There are important lessons to be drawn from system; similarly unprecedented quantities of these events, particularly: The Airport also has a good deal of work to rainfall caused the North Terminal basement do to ensure that its contingency planning 1. Flood prevention and alleviation planning; to be flooded leading to the loss of electrical arrangements reach the level of excellence 2. The adequacy of the airport’s contingency power and of some key systems; and local already achieved by its snow plans. The report and resilience plans; and transport networks – both road and rail – were sets out a number of recommendations on 3. The execution of these plans on the day, also severely impacted by the weather. how this might be done, covering in particular particularly in relation to passenger welfare. the need for GAL and its airlines to agree on This unique set of circumstances was always the implications of different levels of airport In relation to flood prevention and alleviation going to be very hard to manage and, on this capability for the level of operations on the planning, it is clear that, on the basis of occasion, the airport community overreached day; the development of joint disruption plans professional advice taken from the Environment itself in seeking to maintain a close to normal with the largest operators at the airport; the Agency and internationally recognised experts, flying programme on the day. In doing so, while avoidance of an unmanageable build-up the airport’s investment of £20 million on flood 4 Disruption at Gatwick Airport | Christmas Eve 2013 | Report to the Board of Gatwick Airport Limited | 26 February 2014 Executive Summary of passengers at the airport; and makes a • Section 3 considers the adequacy of the Annexes: particular point that no mass switch of flights airport’s contingency and resilience plans, 1. Full terms of reference between Terminals should be attempted until in particular the airport’s approach to 2. Events log adequate plans covering all these elements are using Bronze, Silver and Gold disruption 3. Organisations and individuals consulted in place. management and the airport community’s 4. Summary statistics of flights at Gatwick communications, resourcing and decision Airport on 23, 24 and 25 December 2013 A further important set of recommendations making; 5. Passenger terminal data relates to passenger welfare issues. These 6. Summary of disruption at Gatwick Airport on relate particularly to ensuring that systems • Section 4 considers the airport community’s 16 October 2013 and staff are in place to ensure passengers management of and response to significant are appropriately informed about the evolving passenger welfare issues that arose during situation on a day of difficulty; that sufficient the disruption; attention is paid to passenger, and indeed staff welfare; and that in future these issues are • Section 5 assesses the extent to which safety treated with as much attention and focus as issues relating to the operation of the airport operational issues. arose and how these were addressed; The Report is structured as follows: • Section 6 sets out the process of recovery • Section 1 sets out the context of the from the incident; and disruption, including events leading up to 24 December 2013; • Section 7 sets out the conclusions of the review. • Section 2 discusses the adequacy of the airport’s flood prevention and alleviation Throughout the report I have sought to take an plans, including the implementation of objective approach to the assessment of the the recommendations from the Pitt report available evidence of the events leading up to following flooding in 2007; and beyond 24 December 2013. Disruption at Gatwick Airport | Christmas Eve 2013 | Report to the Board of Gatwick Airport Limited | 26 February 2014 5 1 Context Introduction In addition, Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal point to the fact that the airport was faced Gatwick Airport is the world’s busiest single electrical systems were affected by flooding by an exceptional and difficult challenge on runway airport. Gatwick occupies a key early on the morning of 24 December 2013. that day. This was magnified by the more strategic location in the Greater London area, This ultimately led to 72 departing flights, general difficulties in the region, with flooding one of the busiest centres for air transport and 73 arriving flights, being cancelled. in neighbouring areas, the complete closure of in the world. The airport is the UK’s second These cancellations impacted over 13,000 the main railway line, the closure of the M23 busiest by passenger traffic, the tenth largest passengers. 146 of the 188 planned departures motorway and of local roads by flooding and in Europe for international passengers, and for the day were subject to delays of over 30 felled trees. handles approximately 25% of Greater London’s minutes with over 90 experiencing delays of up traffic. In 2013, 35.4 million passengers passed to 4 hours and over 50 over 4 hours, with some Following the disruption, the Board of Gatwick through Gatwick. Gatwick Airport serves over flights being delayed by up to 13 hours. These Airport Limited (GAL) appointed me as a non- 215 destinations worldwide with a diversified delays impacted thousands more passengers. executive Director, to lead an urgent review route network and a broad base of airlines The detrimental impact on passengers was of the events of 24 December 2013. The full – over 60 carriers operate regularly from the magnified by the fact that this occurred on terms of reference for the review are included at airport. Christmas Eve, with many people wishing to Annex 1, but the key points that the review was travel to spend Christmas Day with friends and requested to cover were: Gatwick’s airfield operations were severely family. affected by the adverse weather late on 23 and • The adequacy of the airport’s flood prevention early on 24 December 2013. In particular, three The flooding at Gatwick Airport on Christmas and alleviation plans, including the extent to of the electrical sub-stations serving the airfield Eve was the culmination of unprecedented which the relevant recommendations of Sir were affected by flooding and high winds blew levels of rainfall over preceding weeks and Michael Pitt following the 2007 flood have unrestrained aircraft baggage containers onto months. River flows at the three waterways been implemented; the airfield, damaging the runway instrument in the immediate vicinity of the airport were landing system. The high winds also resulted in at record levels.