Saturday’s papers are dominated by Friday’s chaos at Heathrow Airport. The Guardian reports that the government has said there are “questions to answer” after the fire at an electrical substation left the airport “unable to function.” The closure stopped “about 1,300 planes” and disrupted “hundreds of thousands of global travellers”, it says, and pictures some of those travellers in the airport checking for updates on their phones.
Also focusing on the political response to the Heathrow closure is the Daily Telegraph, which quotes the response from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, that “it makes Heathrow look quite vulnerable and therefore we’ve got to learn”. The Telegraph further reports that Miliband was among those who opposed expanding Heathrow and that “there are fears that rows about building a third runway have prevented wider modernisation at the airport”.
In its coverage of the story, the i Paper prominently quotes Heathrow chief Thomas Woldbye who, it reports, apologised for the chaos and “admits we cannot guard ourselves 100%”. According to energy experts, it says, there are major questions to answer over the lack of preparedness.
The Financial Times Weekend edition illustrates its report with a dramatic photo of the blaze at the electrical substation. The report details the chaos of the flights, including some transatlantic flights which “ended up wherever there was space” including an Air Canada flight that was diverted to Newfoundland.
“Farcical!” declares the Daily Mail’s headline as it questions how a “small fire shut down one of the world’s biggest airports”. It reports that the investigation is being led by counter-terrorism police, “while Westminster sources blame human error.” The investigation has so far found no indication of foul play. Also on the Mail’s front page is a feature by the paper’s royal editor Rebecca English on the Princess of Wales’ “year of courage”. A year ago, Catherine published a video message revealing that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was in the early stages of chemotherapy – she is now in remission.
The Daily Mirror similarly plays a feature about Kate’s year of courage quite high, with its front being near equally split with a smiling image of the princess and the fiery scene that unfolded at Heathrow. “Fire sparks travel chaos” and “Grounded” splash across the front, as the paper reports that the airport’s chief executive has said back-up generators did begin working after the outage – but “but they are not sized to run the entire airport”.
The headline “Faulty Powers” leads the front page of the Sun, complete with a slightly wonky “Y” just like the classic TV comedy show that headline is spoofing. The paper reports how the blaze at the substation left “Britain humiliated by airport fiasco”.
The Times puts the airport’s executives at Heathrow front and centre of its coverage, with the headline “Heathrow chaos puts bosses in firing line”. The paper takes on a lighter note by highlighting a feature by one of its columnists, Caitlin Moran, and describes some of the perks she’s imbibed in to mark a 50th trip around the sun – Botox not excluded.
The Daily Express uses a full page spread to campaign for the UK’s veterans, saying the country “must not abandon our last WW2 heroes”. The paper says that it is joined by veterans today in calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to abandon Britain’s war heroes, with the plea arriving – as the paper reports – after funds from a government scheme have dried up. It goes on to say this could result in veterans missing anniversary events planned for this summer.
“Scatter the cushions” says the Daily Star, referring to broadcaster Adrian Chiles’s comments in his Guardian column the previous day about how he would happily torch the extra pillows he finds adorning his marital bed each day. The Star’s editors are clearly in agreement as their headline adds “Just say NO!!!” with the triple exclamation mark underlining their distaste.
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The FT Weekend, the Sun and the Mirror all carried images like this of the fire at the substation near Heathrow
The Financial Times Weekend says Chancellor Rachel Reeves will blame a “changing world” when she outlines more than £10bn of spending cuts in her Spring Statement next week. The moves are said to include a £5bn crackdown on departmental spending growth, in addition to the £5bn of welfare cuts already announced. The paper says people briefed on her speech have warned it will make “dismal reading”.
The Times says Reeves “faces a day of reckoning”, with the independent watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, expected to halve growth forecasts for next year when it delivers its latest verdict on the economy ahead of her statement.
A campaign urging ministers to provide funding for veterans to attend World War Two commemorations this year has been launched by the Daily Express. It says funds from a previous government scheme have dried up, leaving the few surviving soldiers from the war to fear they could miss memorial events in France and the Netherlands this summer. Writing in the paper, the former deputy chairman of the Conservatives, Lord Ashcroft, gives his backing to the campaign arguing “it’s hard to imagine a more deserving cause”. The government says veterans will be at the heart of 80th anniversary commemorations in the UK.
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