Closed off: Four Malaysia Airlines flights to London were disrupted following the closure of Heathrow Airport.
PETALING JAYA: Friday’s massive power outage at London’s Heathrow Airport has raised alarms across the global aviation industry, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced electrical resilience at major international airports, according to an aviation economist.
Assoc Prof Mejar Dr Mohd Harridon Mohamed Suffian, an economist specialising in aviation and aerospace at Universiti Kuala Lumpur’s Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology, described the incident as a “significant predicament” with implications for airport safety and regulated power supply.
“Airports are centres of commerce and trade, and their operational perpetuity is vital to ensure passenger and cargo movements, as well as commercial activities at terminals and outlets, remain seamless and uninterrupted,” he said when contacted yesterday.
On Friday, four Malaysia Airlines flights to London were disrupted following the closure of Heathrow Airport, but the airline confirmed yesterday that its flights to London are now back on track.
Heathrow Airport authorities are now scrambling to clear a huge backlog of disrupted flights from all over the world, given that it is a major aviation hub, ranking as the 5th busiest airport in the world after Atlanta, Dubai, Dallas and Haneda in Tokyo.
Harridon stressed that any disruption in airport operations not only affects logistics but could also erode public trust and investor confidence.
“The economic vibrancy of a nation depends upon the operational efficiency of its airports.
“Hiccups and delays in their functionalities would decrease the confidence index of consumers towards these facilities,” he explained.
To safeguard airport operations, he recommended the implementation of a robust and comprehensive backup power system capable of supporting critical infrastructure.
“This includes power to essential physical areas such as terminals, runways, the control tower, control software and systems, and the air traffic management system.
“Other auxiliaries, such as retail outlets, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hangars, as well as trade centres must also be powered continuously as they provide valuable services to passengers and consumers.”
Highlighting the primacy of safety in aviation, Harridon proposed the establishment of independent mini electrical substations within airport premises to mitigate future risks.
“Safety is of uttermost importance in aviation. A dedicated substation is a viable and feasible solution to ensure aircraft can land and take off safely without any pertinent issues,” he said.
He added that ensuring airports are not susceptible to electrical outages is critical to sustaining a nation’s economic growth and maintaining the financial and commercial value of its aviation hubs.
“A robust airport infrastructure not only alleviates safety concerns but also ensures the maturity and resilience of a nation’s economy,” he added.
For electrical engineer Tee Tone Vei, the fire at the substation underscores how vulnerable even the most well-designed systems can be.
“Despite being the world’s second largest airport, a single weak link in its electrical infrastructure brought operations to a halt.
“It is a wake-up call for engineers: no system is too large to fail.
“A single point of weakness in the power infrastructure can trigger widespread chaos, emphasising the need for meticulous design and redundancy,” said Tee, who has been part of the Heating Appliances Working Group for Sirim, as well as a contributor to the Department of Standards Malaysia in Safety of Household and Electrical Appliances for Sirim MS Standard, since 2003.
He is also a member of the Safety and Compliance subcommittee for the Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia, and is now president of the Malaysia Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
For another electrical engineer, Michael Joseph, there has to be awareness on how ageing equipment can lead to degradation in performance.
“We need to remember that there is a price to pay for redundancy. Redundancy is not a luxury, but critical in many power related equipment.
“Infrastructure planning for redundancy with good intervention strategies are key for critical national centres,” said Michael, who is now a consultant to the power generation business.
He added that a coordinated business continuity plan between different stakeholders with well aligned efforts and practical approaches would be helpful during such situations.
“In this incident, there were multiple failures that led to the airport closure, with areas of concern including ageing equipment, infrastructure planning and business continuity effort,” he said.
The Star had reached out to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the operator of KLIA, for comments.
