Should Heathrow's sleeping CEO be sacked? episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 24, 2025 · 37 MIN

Should Heathrow's sleeping CEO be sacked?

from The Daily T

Several days on from Heathrow's 18-hour shutdown caused by a fire at an electrical substation, the recriminations and the blame-shifting are well underway.Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s CEO, is taking the brunt of the criticism, after reports at the weekend that he went to bed at 12.30am on Friday morning instead of directly overseeing the airport's response.Meanwhile, the boss of the National Grid told the Financial Times that Heathrow could have stayed open with energy from two other substations.So who is to blame? And what does it say about Britain's infrastructure that a fire at a substation was enough to close the fourth-busiest airport in the world?Plus, five years on from the Covid lockdowns, we speak to a primary school head teacher about the consequences it had on children's development.Producers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineySocial Media Producer: Ji-Min LeeVideo Editor: James MoorheadStudio Director: Meghan SearleEditor: Camilla TomineyProduction support from Will LewisOriginal music by Goss StudioHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Several days on from Heathrow's 18-hour shutdown caused by a fire at an electrical substation, the recriminations and the blame-shifting are well underway.Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s CEO, is taking the brunt of the criticism, after reports at the weekend that he went to bed at 12.30am on Friday morning instead of directly overseeing the airport's response.Meanwhile, the boss of the National Grid told the Financial Times that Heathrow could have stayed open with energy from two other substations.So who is to blame? And what does it say about Britain's infrastructure that a fire at a substation was enough to close the fourth-busiest airport in the world?Plus, five years on from the Covid lockdowns, we speak to a primary school head teacher about the consequences it had on children's development.Producers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineySocial Media Producer: Ji-Min LeeVideo Editor: James MoorheadStudio Director: Meghan SearleEditor: Camilla TomineyProduction support from Will LewisOriginal music by Goss StudioHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Should Heathrow's sleeping CEO be sacked?

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This episode was published on March 24, 2025.

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Several days on from Heathrow's 18-hour shutdown caused by a fire at an electrical substation, the recriminations and the blame-shifting are well underway.Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s CEO, is taking the brunt of the criticism, after reports at the...

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