The shutdown of passenger and cargo operations at Heathrow Airport last Friday resulted in the disruption of more than £5.43m of goods, according to international delivery firm Parcelhero.
Following the power outage that resulted in the grounding of all flights and shutdown of operations at Heathrow for a day, Parcelhero said that the full impact of the closure on the UK supply chain is likely to have been underestimated.
Despite cargo operations resuming on 23 March, head of consumer research at the parcel firm, David Jinks said: "The final cost of the disruption is likely to total millions of pounds. This includes lost perishable items, refuelling and rescheduling aircraft, the idling of equipment and production lines relying on the delivery of just-in-time products and components and the rerouting of goods by road between alternative airports and destinations."
While cargo operations on the ground were running, the cancellation of all flights meant that cargo couldn't be transported as planned, affecting supply chains. Some cargo was also redirected to other airports in the UK and Europe.
Jinks added: "The true cost of the disruption is likely to be considerable. Even though all Heathrow cargo facilities are now accepting deliveries again, freight facilities at Heathrow and alternative centres at Luton, Stansted and Gatwick could struggle with volumes and scheduling for several days to come.
"Last month, Heathrow handled 120,765 metric tonnes of cargo. The logistics of rerouting and scheduling even a portion of this volume of freight is daunting.”
Shipments to the US have been particularly affected, explained Jinks.
"Cargo to the USA will have been particularly impacted, given that Heathrow has more routes to America than any other UK airport," he said. "The USA is the UK’s biggest individual trading partner and any disruption to these services is significant."
In 2023, 48% of all UK air cargo was processed through Heathrow in 2023. This amounts to 70% of all UK air cargo by value.
Over 198.5bn worth of goods travelled through Heathrow in 2023. 90% of cargo at Heathrow is transported via belly capacity.
Referencing Heathrow's heavy use of belly capacity, Jinks said this means delayed freight shipments will continue to compete for space with increased passenger luggage demand as people reorganise their schedules over the next few days.
