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Quest Means Business
Heathrow Flights Resume After Fire Triggers Major Shutdown; Richard Quest Gets Stuck In Brazil; Boeing Wins Contract For New U.S. Air Force Fighter Jet; Heathrow Shutdown Causes Global Travel Disruption; Greek Tourism Minister Stranded By Heathrow Chaos; Santorini Works To Recover From Recent Earthquakes; Flight Compensation Expert On Heathrow Chaos. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired March 21, 2025 - 16:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:23]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: The closing bell is ringing on wall street. U.S. markets are ending the session slightly higher. The S&P 500
snapping a four-week losing streak.
Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade joining you live from Atlanta.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: I'm Max Foster, live at Heathrow Airport after a day of disruption. The city never -- or hasn't seen in a
very long time, one analyst described it as near unprecedented.
So it all began early this morning, really, there was a fire. There was a fire at a substation, and it literally took out all the power of the entire
airport, which is one of Europe's busiest, and flights had to be turned back in the sky. We've been speaking to passengers who just got sent back
to airports. They weren't expecting and are just sitting there hearing very little, because even the airlines are struggling to figure out exactly what
happened.
So that fire started, the first flights depart and are being repatriated back to areas tonight, but very few of them so far, the airport says they
are hoping to get a full schedule going tomorrow morning, but they're going to struggle because there is such a big communication problem between all
of the agencies involved here.
The U.K. government says it has eased restrictions on overnight flights to ease some congestion. Famously, flights are very restricted over London at
night, but they won't be tonight, so a lot of Londoners are going to be hearing the fallout as well.
Heathrow's CEO says he has never seen anything like today's events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS WOLDBYE, CEO, HEATHROW AIRPORT: This is unprecedented. It has never happened before and that's why I'm saying it has been a major incident. Of
course, everybody has been shocked, but all our procedures have been working the way they should. I hope people appreciate that we do not close
down the airport unless we have severe safety concerns, that's why we do it and that's what has happened today.
We have been working tirelessly to get the operation back into running and that is what is not happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: So one fire, it started off as a small fire, it actually grew, but it was in one small part of the substation. And the Fire Brigade started
investigating. Then actually, the anti-terror police got brought in because it was such a major incident. But the police are now saying they don't see
any foul play here.
So it is really over to the Fire Brigade to figure out what exactly went wrong with the electrics there. Let's take a look back at the day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: A giant blaze lights up the night sky in West London. The fire at an electrical substation knocking out power to the local area and to
Europe's busiest airport.
By the morning, the flames were under control, but London Heathrow had entered complete shutdown. Planes grounded and thousands of passengers in
the U.K. and around the world stranded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of unbelievable, just kind of like, what the hell? Because this whole trip has been a little bit of a, let's just say,
bad luck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've called Delta and all the lines were busy, so they're not answering. I just called American Express Travel to see if they
can help. I am waiting.
FOSTER: The power outage lasted for hours as the fire also impacted Heathrow's back up power supply, and with an average of 1,300 flights a
day, the hit to this major travel hub caused global disruption.
Many flights enroute to Heathrow had to be diverted elsewhere. Others kept on the tarmac for hours, only for passengers to be told they couldn't fly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple of hours ago, right as we were about to leave Newfoundland, we were rerouted back to Minneapolis.
FOSTER: Some flights resumed late on Friday. The airport is hoping to be fully operational on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Counterterrorism Police have been called in to lead the investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no suggestion that there is foul play --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a catastrophic accident, is what we are looking at.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is the -- I mean, the conversation I've had with the National Grid, the chief executive of the National Grid, and certainly
that's what he said to me.
FOSTER: The chaos caused by this incident could take days to resolve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an unprecedented situation, and we have not seen a closure of Heathrow on this scale for many years. Unfortunately, it will
have a huge impact on all of our customers flying with us over the coming days.
[16:05:07]
FOSTER: Meaning thousands more passengers are heading for delays.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The problems is also causing chaos on this program.
Richard was meant to be anchoring tonight, but he couldn't get here. He ended up being stranded in Santiago trying to navigate another way to get
back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: We were on the plane for about, I don't know, four or four-and-a-half hours and the crew kept us pretty well-
informed, bearing in mind they didn't have much information themselves.
There was lots of looking online and seeing what the situation in London was -- what was happening, and one could see from Flight Radar and things
like that, where other planes had been diverted.
The flight has now been canceled and we've been told to come back and get our luggage, which, to be fair, is also coming off the plane rather
rapidly.
Okay, this is the reality. We've all got our bags, but now we have to wait for the voucher to get the taxi to get to the hotel, which they say they've
organized. But so far, it is just a long, long, long line where I am at the back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Richard is with us now. Those lines aren't going to go away soon, are they, Richard, either?
QUEST: No they are not. What is going to happen is they are going to become dispersed. There will be more of them and they will be smaller. But the
sheer number of people getting the network up and running again is going to be extremely difficult and very costly.
I have to tell you, Max, in the last few hours, I've been shaking the CEO tree from some of those who are involved in aviation. And there is a
certain -- look, there is a certain rectitude of just these things will happen, fortitude, if you will.
We have to deal with it. We will deal with it. It will take several days, but there is also irritation, frustration and annoyance. Firstly, that it
happened and that Heathrow Airport says, well, you know, this happened and it couldn't have been necessarily prevented and blah blah.
And secondly, that the airlines are going to be stuck with the bill and not only for the cost of the loss of income and dealing with it, but also the
cost of care and comfort, which we can talk about in a minute about -- for passengers.
So all in all, it is a real blackeye, if you will, for British aviation, for the airlines, the airports, and raises some very serious questions
about the robustness of Heathrow Airport.
FOSTER: We heard from the chief exec of Heathrow saying -- he was talking about liability. They don't have liability, he says, because it was an
external problem. But, you know, a lot of people suggesting it surely would be Heathrow Airport's issue because they should -- they're responsible for
the running of the airport, and the backup systems in place.
QUEST: Yes, well, that's going to be classic negligence. Would a reasonable airport have had more backup systems in place? Remember, you're not putting
in place systems for a nuclear war. You're putting in place systems for, you know what the average normal airport in Heathrow's position would have
done.
Where the airlines are furious, is that they're going to get the bill for things like my hotel and my taxi back and forth and my meals. It is called
U.K. 261, which is an exact mirror of E.U. 261, which talks about when people can get compensation and care and comfort.
Now, there is no question in my mind, compensation is out of the question. This is an extraordinary event, extraordinary circumstances, not the
airlines' fault, but the airlines are on the hook for many millions of pounds and dollars for paying for the bills, for keeping people safe and
comfortable.
And I think that that's -- and Willie Walsh of IATA, the head of IATA, the aviation body, has already been getting excited at that point. And by the
way, Max, all the CEOs and myself included are going to be in Brussels next week for the meeting of the airlines for Europe, A4E and I think you can
gather what's going to be the top topic of conversation in the panels I will be moderating.
FOSTER: Obviously, you're in a lovely place. You got me anchoring for you. So you're not too stuck. But we were just speaking to a passenger who got
turned back to Dulles. He can't get hold of B.A. because when he e-mails them, they are saying call them. They're not answering the call.
[16:10:04]
I know you've got sympathy for B.A. because it is an extraordinary situation, but people who are really desperate to get somewhere, what
should they do?
QUEST: Do it yourself. I know -- I can feel you bristling at this, Max. I can feel you saying. But I know what they will say. But the reality is, do
it yourself. I got my hotel myself.
FOSTER: It just feels unfair.
QUEST: I just knew -- I was on my own. Of course, it is unfair. So whoever said it was fair? I mean, you're -- B.A. can't -- B.A., Virgin, Lufthansa.
You can't staff for this. Because if you staff for this, you're going to raise your costs for the rest of the year.
Now, I have to be clear about this. B.A. is already -- you know, the app has already rebooked me several times on different flights, so it is all
working to a certain extent, as it should in very difficult circumstances.
But my core advice is number one, if you haven't got decent travel insurance, why not? I have a 365-day policy. I know CNN's got a couple of
policies that will kick in as well.
If you're a regular traveler and you haven't got a decent travel insurance, then you're a fool.
Secondly, take care of yourself. It might cost you a bob or two, and you might have to go back and get the money from somebody else afterwards, but
the goal is to keep moving.
My core principle when I travel is, if something goes wrong, how will I keep moving forward? And unfortunately, that means looking after yourself
because otherwise you are one of many tens, if not hundreds of thousands trying to get there.
And the reality is, I got a hotel. I've had a decent steak here in Brazil, so there is a definite plus on that side. Third advantage, you're doing my
work for me today and everything else is going according to plan. BA 262 will take off tonight for London.
FOSTER: It doesn't help, does it, seeing the steak. But I am here for you, Richard, and you always see a positive. So thank you for that.
QUEST: Thank you.
FOSTER: Not so positive, airline share, they are lower. So if you're investing in them, not great news, but let's see how everyone recovers from
this.
IAG, the owner of British Airways, closed nearly two percent off in London. BA's chief executive said the cancellations will have a huge impact on its
clients over the coming days. Lufthansa and Air France were lower as well. The impact extends well beyond Heathrow. One analyst estimates it could
cost airlines hundreds of millions of dollars.
Now, Meghna Maharishi is an airline reporter at Skift. I mean, what do you make there of what Richard was saying, presuming you're hearing the same
things from the airlines, pretty frustrated that they are bearing the brunt of all of this.
MEGHNA MAHARISHI, AIRLINE REPORTER, SKIFT: Yes, there is definitely a lot of frustration going across the industry and obviously also among customers
who are stranded at Heathrow. I think this isn't the first time there has been a complete meltdown. I mean, even during the summer, there was that
CrowdStrike outage, which caused flights everywhere to be temporarily canceled and airlines had to bear the brunt of those costs when it came to
compensating passengers.
It also took, for example, Delta Air Lines five days to recover from that outage. Even back in 2022, we saw with Southwest when they had this holiday
meltdown, when they had these tech issues caused by a blizzard, they also had to compensate everybody. And it really creates a big dent to their
bottom line. And we will see what that impact is. And I think it will also be interesting to see how British Airways recovers from this.
FOSTER: What about the liability issue? I know that in the U.S., the airports legally are responsible for making sure they've got a decent
electricity supply and back-up system because they've had issues with hurricanes and extreme weather. Shouldn't airports like Heathrow have the
same responsibilities because everyone feels like it is the airport's fault, but the airport is saying it isn't.
MAHARISHI: Yes, that is the big question. I've also been hearing a lot of criticism for the way this was handled, and there are a lot of questions
swirling around as to why Heathrow did not have enough backups to at least keep the operations going at the airport. That's a really big question we
are all wondering here right now, and it will be interesting to see what comes out of the investigation and also what reforms Heathrow will have to
make.
These sorts of events, I think we typically think they're unprecedented in a sense, or they won't happen or they're very rare. So I think that's where
the lack of liability from Heathrow is coming on, because this is like an unprecedented, catastrophic event.
But as I said, it will be interesting to see what comes out of the investigations on this.
FOSTER: For people investing in airline stocks, what's the advice?
[16:15:03]
MAHARISHI: I mean, I am not sure if now is the best time to be investing in airline stocks, at least in the U.S., airline stocks across the board had
already been down because there are a lot of fears of an economic recession that have been brought on by the threat of tariffs in the country and then
also the mass layoffs in the federal government.
So at least in the U.S., like that's already been a problem, and this shutdown in Heathrow further caused those stocks to dive. I think also in
Europe, I think that uncertainty will spread. So I generally would not recommend investing in airline stocks and this Heathrow incident definitely
doesn't help.
FOSTER: And we've really got a taste today about how connected the airline industry is. I know that sounds really obvious, but this is a global
industry, but there are certain hubs like Heathrow that can have this huge knock on effect, and that's really difficult, isn't it, for the big
airlines abroad who've got something completely unpredictable because of different regulations and different countries that they can't control.
MAHARISHI: Yes, there is definitely a cascading effect when it comes to these sorts of meltdowns. We also saw in the summer with CrowdStrike, I
think it is just a good example, because it was also another sort of like global outage, where it takes time to get back to normal. And I think with
Heathrow, it is going to be the same thing.
I think the airlines that are more exposed to Heathrow, it might take them longer to really get their operations resuming completely back to normal. I
know, at least in the U.S., United Airlines has already said that it plans to resume operations for its flights out of Heathrow tonight. Delta said it
is planning to resume flights on Saturday.
And then I also know with British Airways, their CEO said this morning that they expect the impact of this to last for days. It is always interesting
to see the sort of cascading effects of this, because airlines are also having to coordinate crews, they are also having to coordinate baggage and
then also compensation.
FOSTER: Okay. Thank you so much for joining us, Meghna, with that. And you know, we will have to wait to see how the markets go. The priority really
now though, is trying to get people stranded around the world to where they need to be. This would be busier at this time of night, usually. This is
Europe's busiest airport.
We are only seeing one or two planes come in though, and then they've got that huge process really, to try to contact the passengers that need to get
out, get them to the airport, get them off on the planes. So you have this really sort of ironic situation often in these situations, because you have
planes leaving that aren't full when everyone is desperate to get out.
In a broader aviation space, though, Donald Trump talking about the next generation of fighter jets. He says he is working on them. He says they
will be built by Boeing, a company whose commercial jets have faced a whole set of other problems that was on their production side.
More on that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:39]
KINKADE: Hello, I am Lynda Kinkade.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Boeing has won the contract to build the next generation fighter jet for the U.S. Air Force. It is a much needed win
for the struggling plane maker. Boeing shares closed three percent higher.
The President says the plane has been in development for years, and it will be called the F-47. Previous jet programs like Lockheed Martin's F-35 have
been criticized for delays and major cost overruns. Trump offered no details on how much the F-47 will cost.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We can't tell you the price because it would give -- it would give way to some of the
technology and some of the size of the planes, good sized planes.
This contract also represents a historic investment in our Defense industrial base, helping to keep America at the cutting edge of aerospace
and technology.
Our allies are calling constantly. They want to buy them also, and well, certain allies, we will be selling them, perhaps toned down versions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The president also pushed back on a report that Elon Musk was to be briefed on U.S. military plans for a potential conflict with China. Musk
met the Defense Secretary at The Pentagon, though neither revealed what they talked about.
Trump said it would be inappropriate to show war plans to Musk, who does business with China.
Our Oren Liebermann is at The Pentagon covering all of these developments and joins us live.
Good to see you, Oren. So let's start with the sixth generation fighter jet that was announced by Donald Trump. It is going to be named after him, the
47th president. It has been in development for years. What more can you tell us about it?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, a bit of a surprise announcement. And then if you look at it from a different way, perhaps this
is the announcement we should have been expecting. First, its normally the Air Force that announces the designation of a fighter jet or an aircraft,
just like they did the B-21, and naming that the B-21 Raider
Here, though, it was President Donald Trump taking all the attention and apparently simply naming it after his own presidency, the 47th president,
the F-47. He didn't give many details about what sort of capabilities it would have. He simply said, its sixth generation.
He talked a lot and repeatedly said it would be fast and maneuverable and capable, but that was about all of the detail we had. The bit of the
surprise is that it was Boeing that was awarded the contract here. Boeing for decades produced U.S. bomber aircraft. It hasn't produced from the
ground up its own fighter jet since the 1932 P-26 peashooter.
Now, Boeing does now produce the F-15EX, the FA-18 Super Hornet, but those are original McDonnell Douglas designs or derivatives of those designs.
Those two companies merged back in 1997.
Trump has also repeatedly criticized Boeing for the Air Force One -- for the new Air Force One, I should say that is well behind schedule and with
massive cost overruns. And then the KC-46, a Boeing tanker that is in production, that too is well behind schedule, according to the Government
Accountability Office. It is about seven years behind its own timeline of trying to get to full rate production.
So given the promises the administration has made about how it is going to do things faster and more efficiently, this doesn't appear to be headed in
that direction.
Now, the reason perhaps this shouldn't have been surprising, Lynda, is because now all of the U.S. major aircraft manufacturers have their own
program. Northrop Grumman has the B-21, Lockheed Martin has the F-35, and now Boeing has what we now know is the F-47.
KINKADE: And Oren, I want to ask you about Elon Musk's visit to The Pentagon. "The New York Times" is reporting that he was there to discuss a
China war plan. Donald Trump denies that. What are you learning about that visit?
LIEBERMANN: So the pushback on this has been -- has certainly been noteworthy, not only from the White House and Trump himself, but also from
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who say or insist he was not there to discuss what would be highly classified plans for U.S. war with China
plans.
The U.S. is obviously developing because it has to be ready in the event that this happens, but those sorts of plans would be known only by a very
select few. And even if Elon Musk has a top secret security clearance, as we reported, something like that would be on a need to know basis.
[16:25:01]
We have known he was coming for a visit to meet Pete Hegseth. In fact, there was a crowd outside the room in The Pentagon that's known as the
tank. That is a room that has secret meetings with members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
We saw the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff walk in. We saw the Defense Secretary's chief-of-staff walk in, but Musk never headed into that
room. Instead, he headed straight upstairs. When he arrived at The Pentagon, he was there for just under 90 minutes or so, meeting with
Hegseth, asked later about what they were meeting about, Trump says when he saw "The New York Times" report, he asked Pete Hegseth his Defense
Secretary, and he says his Secretary told him he is there to talk about DOGE. He is not there to talk about China.
When the two left the building earlier today, that is Hegseth and Musk, they were asked about what they met. They didn't divulge any details about
that. Musk only said the meeting was good and that Hegseth should reach out if he needs any help.
KINKADE: All right, Oren Liebermann staying across it for us at The Pentagon. Thanks very much.
Well, a federal judge says he is going to get to the bottom of whether the Trump administration intentionally violated his orders. Judge James
Boasberg ordered a halt to certain deportation flights Saturday, but those flights proceeded anyway.
During today's hearing, Boasberg asked Justice Department lawyers what they knew. He also criticized the language the DOJ used in its filings, calling
it disrespectful and something he has never seen from the United States.
Trump officials argued the flights are legal under the Alien Enemies Act. The President earlier said that he has the authority to order the
deportations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're tough people. They're bad people. We don't want them in our country. We can't let a judge say that he wants them -- you know, he didn't
run for president. He didn't get much more than 80 million votes. And we just can't let that happen.
It would be so bad for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Kara Scannell is following this story and joins us from New York. Good to see you, Kara.
So the Justice Department has repeatedly failed to give this judge the details about these deportation flights and when they took off, the judge
has been grilling the DOJ lawyers today.
What more can you tell us?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the judge began this hearing and ended it by focusing in on exactly what the Department of Justice lawyer
knew at the time that he issued that order from the bench, and that order came from the bench last weekend, where the judge said to stop the planes
that were taking off from the U.S. and ultimately ended in El Salvador.
And so the judge focusing his attention on this, asking the Justice Department attorney what exactly his understanding was of the order last
weekend. The lawyer for the Department of Justice said he understood that the judge was saying to stop the planes right then and that it was a
binding order. That's because the administration has come out since, and saying that maybe it was only when the judge's written order a couple hours
later was issued and finalized that that's when it meant that the order went into effect.
But the judge getting the Justice Department attorney here today, in this hearing on the record, to say that he understood the judge, meant it when
he said it from the bench. This lawyer did say, though, that he couldn't share any details of conversations he had with the Executive Branch because
those were covered by attorney client- privilege.
At the end of the hearing, the judge, though, underscoring this, saying, I will get to the bottom of whether this administration violated my order,
who ordered them to violate the order, and what the consequences should be.
So this is something that the judge is not letting up, as they're still grappling with trying to figure out exactly what the powers are of the
presidency and what the powers are of the courts to try to have some sort of whether they should have some sort of role in the administration's
attempt to use this law from 1798 to remove people from the United States.
KINKADE: All right, Kara Scannell, staying across it for us. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Well, much more news coming up. We are going to go back to Max Foster at Heathrow Airport, where airlines are scrambling with the disruption from
today's closure.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:32:21]
KINKADE: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade.
There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment, when Max will be joined by the Greek tourism minister, who's been stranded in London due to the
chaos at Heathrow.
And DoorDash says it will let its users eat now and pay later in a controversial new tie up with Planner.
Before that, the headlines this hour.
London's Heathrow Airport is resuming some flights after being forced to completely shut down for most of the day. It started when a fire at an
electrical substation caused a power outage.
Heathrow had to cancel all flights and planes already in the air were devoted to other airports in Britain and Europe.
Israel's government has voted to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet, the country's internal security service. Israel's Supreme Court suspended the
dismissal pending a hearing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the court's move, saying, the Israeli government decides who will be the head
of the Shin Bet.
And we've been watching developments in Turkey, where protesters are clashing with police, authorities using water cannons to disperse the
crowds. People who have been demonstrating since the detention of the Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
He is a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Critics say the mayor's detention is undemocratic and political. This latest protest is
occurring despite a ban on public gatherings.
FOSTER: Flights may have started resuming at a very low level here at Heathrow Airport, but the ripple effects are being felt around the world,
and they will for several days, because Heathrow Airport connects continents. It's the main airport here in the U.K., and also the busiest in
Europe.
Now, Flightradar24 shows the extent of the cancelation, so, you can get a sense of it. This image shows flights in and out of Heathrow last week,
early today, the traffic looked like this.
Not a single plane arriving or departing. And you can see, really, the scale of the impact here in terms of geography.
Anna Stewart, you've been here since the early hours.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have, I (INAUDIBLE) enough of umbrella, if you like to borrow it.
FOSTER: yes, you know, I've got this big coat.
I mean, you're quite baffled initially about what on earth happened here. Everyone assuming it was something enormous.
STEWART: When we arrive this morning, yes, exactly that. Why was there no backup? Why was it not possible to get power to Heathrow Airport? And also,
what was the cause of the fire at the substation? Was this some sort of sabotage? Was it an act of terror?
The. Latest we have from London's Met Police is that they're not treating this as suspicious.
[16:35:03]
But because Heathrow Airport is, of course, critical infrastructure, the counter-terrorism police will be leading the investigation.
FOSTER: In terms of where we go from here, I mean, we -- you know, the airport is telling us flights are resuming, and we've seen it like two or
three planes come in. How many going to go out tonight.
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: So, we seen -- we've seen some repatriation flights.
FOSTER: Yes.
STEWART: So, you see a flight go all the way from Gatwick to Heathrow, probably not with anyone in it, you know, getting aircraft into the right
places.
FOSTER: Yes.
STEWART: But we are expecting a long-haul-flights, British Airways flights, to take off from here this evening.
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: Yes.
STEWART: Which is actually earlier than we were all expecting to go to places like Singapore and South Africa. Those to take off tonight. But
tomorrow is when we expect the first expect the full reopening of the schedule. Of course, people that have been impacted need to check their
flight because a lot of things will have changed. There is a huge backlog.
FOSTER: Yes. So, people be waiting to get on those flights. If you're planning to come here to fly, in theory, you can, but the pressure is going
to -- on the system is going to be enormous.
STEWART: Of course, and a lot of aircraft are in the wrong place. I mean, as we've been saying last few hours, when the news broke that Heathrow
Airport was closing, a hundred plus flights were actually already in their air, on the way to Heathrow.
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: Yes. Yes.
STEWART: So, those have to be diverted. Some of them are in Europe. Crews is very complicated in terms of crew schedules and how long they can work
for. So, they have to figure all that out, and then, this big backlog, in addition to, I'm sure, a full-schedule tomorrow passengers who are planning
to fly out.
FOSTER: We were hearing from one passenger, he just can't get hold of P.A. Richard Quest was very sympathetic to that, because P.A. can't plan for
these sorts of events, but they are going to have a very busy day tomorrow, just trying to connect with the customers, because they have to contact
them to tell them when to come in, right?
STEWART: There has to be so much communication between these airlines and passengers. And the British Airways, who are, you know, most impacted, this
will take some time.
It is interesting to hear from the former CEO of IAG, which owns British Airways. Earlier today -- he's the director general of IATA, and he really
puts a lot of blame on Heathrow Airport.
FOSTER: Yes.
STEWART: You know, why isn't there a better backup? Why is there one source of power here? How could this source of disruption, not just to Heathrow
Airport, but really to global travel, happen as a result of a fire at a single electrical substation?
FOSTER: Yes. The fire brigade are investigating that. They want to know exactly what electricals went wrong.
Thank you so much, Anna.
Well, a bit of irony. A tourism minister from Greece was actually caught up in all of this, currently stuck in London, I think, Olga Kefalogianni,
scheduled to fly to Athens earlier this afternoon. She is stuck in London.
Today's chaos now might have an impact on the tourism industry in the short term. And experts say a closure like this has effects beyond airlines and
travelers.
But I just want to speak to you now, Minister, first of all, your story, presumably, it was quite simple. Actually, you were told you couldn't fly.
OLGA KEFALOGIANNI, GREEK TOURISM MINISTER: Well. First of all, thank you very much for having me on the show.
We're supposed to be online, but not in London. I was supposed to be online in Athens. Richard Quest is supposed to be in London. So, I think everybody
was kind of like, everybody's life was disrupted because of this event at Heathrow.
You know, I just found out in the morning that I couldn't fly out of London. So, I'm really, actually not unhappy about it. It's just my twin
toddlers that we're waiting for mommy to come back.
FOSTER: Yes, absolutely. But a lot of Greeks will be stuck around the world, and that is because Heathrow is such a central European hub, isn't
it?
KEFALOGIANNI: Yes. And of course, it is a central European hub, and a lot of Greeks coming back and forth. And this was actually a long, long weekend
for Greeks. So, I assume that this has been an inconvenience for quite a lot of people.
FOSTER: Obviously, you know, airports in Greece as well. What do you think about -- I mean, what struck you about how the airport was so affected by a
relatively simple fault, actually, because fires do happen.
They do have take out substations occasionally. But the -- you know, the system here in the U.K. just couldn't handle it.
KEFALOGIANNI: Yes, you know, I can't really comment on what happened. As I have been following the news, nobody really knows exactly what has happened
yet. So, I could be the last person to be able to comment about it. You know that things do happen, so extraordinary events do happen. So, I guess
it's always important to be prepared to face such events.
I'm speaking, let's say, from my own experience. So, Greece as a country, welcoming millions of visitors does have a very big experience in dealing
with crisis.
[16:40:06]
And I think that we have done so very effectively these past years. And we have to be prepared to face any extraordinary circumstance.
FOSTER: I wanted to also ask you a separate question about the border issues in the United States. Currently, we're seeing Europeans struggling
to get into the United States. I wonder what sort of conversations you are having with your European colleagues, and perhaps, with the U.S. as well,
about clarifying for, you know, Greek tourists what they should be considering when going to the U.S. at the moment.
KEFALOGIANNI: Well, frankly, speaking, this is not part of my portfolio. So, I wouldn't like to comment on something which is not my responsibility.
But, of course, it's understandable that, since Greeks and other Europeans are used to going to the U.S. without having problems at the borders, this
has been also, right now, very big disruption on what they would have as a normal, let's say, circumstance.
FOSTER: Well, we've been talking about Greeks traveling abroad, but let's talk about the place where so many people from the rest of the world want
to go to go to Greece as well. Santorini, we had that awful situation where you had to evacuate everyone from the island, didn't you? And what is the
latest with that?
KEFALOGIANNI: Well, the most important message that I would like to convey today is that Santorini is open and operating completely as normal,
visitors should feel 100 percent confident about booking for the season.
Of course, earlier this year, with the seismic activity, we rightly prioritized safety. And right now, we have been given the all clear by the
scientists. So, everybody is back on the island, and I was actually in Santorini earlier this week, and I can report that the island is as
beautiful as ever.
People in Santorini are getting on with preparing for the coming season, and we are open as normal and waiting for the visitors to enjoy this
beautiful island and all the beauties of Greece.
FOSTER: Really is. It's a fantastic place, and I'm glad, you know, there is been a recovery in process there.
Thank you so much for joining us, Minister today on the program. I hope you get back as well to a beautiful country.
(CROSSTALK)
KEFALOGIANNI: Thank you so much.
FOSTER: Now, we're talking about the issues about getting in and out of the U.S. there, and Chile could lose its access, we're being told to the U.S.
visa system. And that's if some Republican lawmakers, at least, have their way.
So, Chile has been part of this system since 2014. Their citizens can enter the U.S. for up to 90 days without going through the full visa system, if
you like, the process, Chile is the only South American country that actually has that agreement. So, it's always been seen as a great advantage
for travelers there.
Our Richard Quest has been speaking to a Chilean journalist, actually about this, and first, he asked, how the country's mining companies are
responding to potential U.S. tariffs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS PAUT, CNN CHILE ECONOMICS EDITOR: The mining industry is a little worried. No doubt that worried. Why? Because when I talk to the top
executive of the different companies, they said that they are in an industry that is in the long term, not in the shorter term.
So, they have to think of a structural factors. And the structural factors, what they tell us, that the copper demand is growing. So, that's why they
are looking.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: But the relationship with the U.S., this country, for example, is the only one that has visa waiver
access. There is a huge downside risk if Donald Trump takes against Chile.
PAUT: Absolutely. And you name the main subject of concern about our relationship with the U.S. at this moment. The visa waiver, that is a
unique program in South America, because Chile is the only one that has it. And you can get a visa to the U.S. in only three days. Very different from
all other countries that take place in a visa, around two weeks, three weeks, or one month.
And Chile is in danger to get the visa waiver out because of burglaries that took place in the U.S. by Chilean people.
QUEST: So, what about this idea that Donald Trump wants to increase -- you know, the spheres of influence. You've got Xi for Asia, you've got Putin
for the caucuses and parts of Eastern Europe and Central Europe, and you've got Donald Trump everywhere from Greenland all the way down to Diego El
Fuego.
PAUT: I don't think that right now South America is on the scope of Donald Trump.
[16:45:03]
QUEST: Really?
QUEST: You tell it yourself. Only to the Panama Canal. He hasn't said anything about Chile. He only talked about Argentina, because friends with
President Javier Milei and the chainsaw. But Chile, Peru, Colombia, nothing he has said right now.
So, at this moment, at March get into April. So far, the scope, I think, is not on South America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Richard will be back tomorrow, hopefully, or on Monday, at least for his show. He's currently stuck in Santiago.
But we've got Linda coming back after the break with an interesting story about food debt.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
According to the World Food Bank, Africa's food insecure population has increased 60 percent over the last decade despite a growth in agricultural
production.
Nigeria wants to improve the continent's food supply chain by building what could be Africa's largest logistics food hub.
CNN's Eleni Giokos, has a look at the construction underway.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Nigeria, the nation had to face the issue of food insecurity head on.
SOLA IGE, PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT, EPE LOGISTICS HUB: We could see at the time that there was a significant increase in the prices of food. And one of the
ideas behind this is the fact that we don't want any Nigerian to go -- to go to sleep hungry.
GIOKOS (voice over): The idea was born to build what could become Africa's largest food logistics hub.
IGE: What we are looking at here is to store a significant amount of food that will last Lagosians for like 90 days, should the crisis and the mold
of COVID ever occur again.
[16:50:05]
GIOKOS (voice over): Under the Origin Tech Group, construction is well underway to build state-of-the-art facilities for food processing, storage,
and distribution in Lagos State.
PRINCE S.J. SAMUEL, CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ORIGIN TECH GROUP: This should be a pivotal change for agriculture in Africa. Looking
at the food system, you wonder why we still import a lot of things. It's because you don't have a market-led system.
I've not seen a lot of it develop. I believe that this project needs to run across Africa very fast. And we are privileged to be that company who is
willing to help pilot that drive.
GIOKOS (voice over): Once up and running at full capacity, the Origin Tech Group says the logistics hub will have the capacity to store half a billion
tons of food and can generate up to $1.6 billion a year in food transactions, creating an impact that will reach far beyond Nigeria.
SAMUEL: Our hope is that we see this model moving very, very fast and transforming Africa, reducing carbon emission and, of course, waste.
IGE: We are not thinking local, really. We are thinking at least for the African continent, we can repeat this in several countries and it will be
like Africa seems to be the hunger capital of the world and we can start exporting food also to the rest of the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, still to come, many passengers stranded by this morning's chaos at Heathrow Airport is still figuring out how to get home. We'll have
a refund Pro on next to discuss how passengers can make the most out of the misfortune.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Well, the lights are back on here at Heathrow Airport, giving people around the world a glimmer of hope they might actually get to their
destinations. Because the whole place was shut the entire day because of a power outage caused by one single fire at one station here.
The backup system didn't work. That's what happened. Is -- the airport telling passengers to stay away, though, until their flights are available.
And the first priority is repatriating flights diverted to other airports. The problem there is a lot of the communication systems just are not
working. People can't get hold of the airport. They can't get hold of their airlines. So, this. Is going to take so much time to work through.
[16:55:03]
One said, it's been a really confusing, a frustration -- a frustrating process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every time you try and get through a customer service, someone says something different about refunds. Someone said, oh, you still
have to pay. Someone said, oh, we can't do compensation because it's like a special circumstance not up to the flight.
So, yes, we've had literally no news, no news that a refund is even on the way. And you know, some of us have got places to be and you know, we're
just that out even more money and time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: What we need is a compensation expert, and we've got one. Selman Akinci is the co-founder of Click2Refund. It's a flight compensation
calculator. Thank you so much for joining us.
I mean, you're going to be in very much demand today because, I mean, really, the first question is, have you got any advice for people who are
stranded and they can't get hold of the airline, so they don't know what compensation they are going to get, is -- the advice just to, you know, pay
yourself and worry about it later.
SELMAN AKINCI, CO-FOUNDER, CLICK2REFUND: Hello, Max. Thank you for having me today. I'm so sorry for the people that are stuck at the airport today,
but this is our job. This is what we deal with every day.
So, passengers have two key areas of rights. The first one is the care rights. The airline must inform all passengers about the cancelations and
significant delays. They have to offer meals and refreshments. If they don't, passengers can buy their refreshments and keep the receipts to claim
those expenses back if an overnight stay is necessary. Airlines must provide hotel accommodation and provide transportation between the airport
and hotel.
Again, if the airline is not providing that, you can just pay for yourself and keep the receipts. We can claim those back later. Passengers are also
entitled to two free communications, such as telephone calls or e-mails.
The second form of the compensation is monetary compensation. We don't know at this point if all flights are going to be ineligible, or some of them
are going to be eligible. The monetary compensation is usually 220 pounds to 520 pounds depends on the length of the flight that you're missing and
how many hours you have been late to the airport.
In terms of the Heathrow Airport scenario, flights directly canceled due to the fire are generally considered extraordinary circumstances, which
typically exempt the airlines from the compensation.
However, passengers still have the care rights, the meals, the accommodation, and the transportation surely.
FOSTER: Thank you so much. I think you said it all there that they were all the sort of answers that people have been asking us all day. And that idea
that, you know, pay up now if you can't get hold of the airline, and you'll get compensated later, it's really useful advice.
Thank you so much for joining us today. You're going to be busy, like much of the airline industry, I think, over the next few days, as things get
back to normal here.
Lynda, I mean, this idea that the flights are coming in and out isn't the end of it. I think, you know, have days of very unsettled travel for a lot
of people.
KINKADE: Yes, and obviously, like, the flights we backlogged for quite a few days. Max, good to see you. I'll see you in about an hour for another
update. Thanks so much.
And I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper is next, and I will be back with "CNN NEWSROOM" at 6:00 p.m.
Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
