Today, Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest travel hubs, has been forced to shut down all day due to a major power outage. Flights have been grounded, operations disrupted, and thousands of passengers left stranded.
The incident is a stark reminder of a simple truth: No organisation is immune to unexpected disruption, but with the right preparation, the impact can be significantly reduced.
While the closure will no doubt be costly, the consequences could have been far worse without a well-prepared Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan.
The real cost of downtime
One day of airport closure means:
- Millions in lost revenue
- Significant disruption to the global travel and logistics network
- Damaged passenger experience and brand reputation
But without a continuity plan in place, the ripple effect could last for days or even weeks, with even greater financial, operational, and reputational damage.
How Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans Help
Heathrow, like many mission-critical organisations, invests in robust Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Disaster Recovery (DR) strategies to handle crises like this.
Here’s how they work:
1. Minimise downtime
Plans include clear procedures to assess, communicate, and respond to incidents quickly, helping restore essential services as fast as possible.
2. Maintain customer confidence
In high-pressure situations, clear communication and visible control help retain trust, both internally and externally.
3. Protect revenue and operations
Critical systems and backup infrastructure allow key services to continue, or resume quickly, even if primary systems fail.
4. Ensure compliance and safety
For organisations operating in regulated environments (like aviation), continuity and disaster recovery planning is a must-have, not a nice-to-have.
Lessons for every organisation
Whether you’re running an international airport, a tech company, a logistics provider, or a manufacturing site the lesson is clear:
The time to plan for disruption is before it happens.
Ask yourself:
- If a major outage hit your business today, how long would it take to recover?
- Do your people know their roles in a crisis?
- Are your systems and data backed up and accessible?
- Can you continue serving your customers under pressure?
