Captain McLoughlin gets us to Mumbai

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Martin Moodie
Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

I’ve arrived in Mumbai, India after one of the more eventful flights of my career. All was going well on a clear night at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 as British Airways 199 began to reverse out towards the runway for take-off. Then – ‘bang’ – the lights went out and there was the slow groaning sound of a system shutting down.

Those right at the back of the plane apparently spotted flames shooting out from the back of the craft and some later said they had noticed some faint, acrid smoke.

The Captain, in impressive control throughout, first said they were looking into what “some form of failure” and then a few moments later calmly but firmly told us we should leave the plane immediately. It was clear something major was up but to the credit of the crew and the passengers there was no panic, pushing or shoving.

Inside (it was now 10.30 at night) we were told to wait while ground staff investigated the situation. Impressively, the Captain (pictured below) himself took the microphone and talked through the failure (the auxiliary power system had blown up).

He explained that the fire department had poured “about a thousand gallons of water” onto the miscreant part. Then, to some scepticism, indicated the power unit was not a vital component once the plane was in the air and that, therefore, we might be able to take off to Mumbai on the same aircraft.

In an impressive performance, blending just the right amount of technical speak with good humour and common sense (“I assure you I have four children and that therefore I would not be flying this plane if it wasn’t safe”) he allayed the concerns of some worried passengers. Duly the plane, sans auxiliary power unit, took off safely and carried us all the way to India. I slept, untroubled, the whole way.

It was a great example of how to handle a crisis. The Captain took personal control right from the start, coming onto the tannoy within seconds of the original incident and ensuring that passengers were kept informed right through to take-off.

As a result there was barely a complaint, despite the late hour. A great lesson in leadership. His name was Philip McLoughlin (maybe a distant relative of Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman Colm McLoughlin?) and he and his crew were an immense credit to British Airways.

I’m here to chair a concessionaires’ workshop on the all-new Terminal 2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Sahar, Mumbai and to tour the site. It’s one of India’s most important airport developments and promises to be a compelling week. Thanks to Captain McLoughlin I can enjoy it.

[The incumbent Mumbai duty free concessionaire is a partnership between DFS India and Flemingo]

[The new Absolut Unique, each bottle different from the other, makes its Indian debut]

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