Underground heating system at Heathrow could prevent winter travel chaos
Add to My Stories Bosses at Heathrow Airport are considering investing in underground heating in a bid to avoid a repeat performance of the travel chaos caused by snow and ice last year.
British Airports Authority (BAA), the company that runs Heathrow, hopes that geothermal technology could stop planes becoming stuck in ice on their stands.The system captures the heat of the summer sun in the asphalt on the runway and stores it until winter. 
'We would store the energy underground and use it to gently heat water that would run through pipes in freezing conditions to warm the stands, which are the slabs of concrete directly beneath the planes, to just above zero.'Similar systems have been installed at Scandinavian airports, including Oslo's Gardermoen airport.
BAA said the project, which is expected to be very costly, could be! paid fo r by postponing a facelift for one of the airport's terminals.
The company has already promised to spend 50m to avoid further problems at the airport next winter.
British Airports Authority (BAA), the company that runs Heathrow, hopes that geothermal technology could stop planes becoming stuck in ice on their stands.The system captures the heat of the summer sun in the asphalt on the runway and stores it until winter.
Costly business: Heathrow airport was forced to cancel 4,000 flights when it was hit by heavy snowfall in December last year Heathrow airport ground to a halt in December last year when freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall forced it to cancel 4,000 flights.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond ordered an immediate investigation after millions of air passengers were left stranded in the run-up to Christmas.
The review identified 'a low state of preparedness' at the airport and a lack of specialised equipment to clear the snow.
Steve Morgan, BAA's capital projects director, told Building magazine: 'It is not the snow that caused problems last year, it was the ice.
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'We would store the energy underground and use it to gently heat water that would run through pipes in freezing conditions to warm the stands, which are the slabs of concrete directly beneath the planes, to just above zero.'Similar systems have been installed at Scandinavian airports, including Oslo's Gardermoen airport.
BAA said the project, which is expected to be very costly, could be! paid fo r by postponing a facelift for one of the airport's terminals.
The company has already promised to spend 50m to avoid further problems at the airport next winter.
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