Watching the news today about the incident at Heathrow, the magnitude of disruption is staggering. As always, the media focuses on the obvious: grounded flights, stranded passengers, chaos on the M4 and M25. But anyone working in logistics knows that the real ripple effects go far deeper—and much wider.
What isn’t being discussed is the knock-on impact across supply chains. Heathrow isn’t just a passenger hub—it’s a vital artery for freight. Up to 50% of airfreight is carried in the belly of passenger planes. When those flights are grounded or diverted, it doesn’t just delay holidays—it delays medicine, machinery parts, high-value electronics, and perishable goods that businesses around the world are relying on.
Behind the scenes, airfreight operations desks are in overdrive. Distribution centres around Heathrow are suddenly dealing with inbound shipments that never arrive, or arrive hours (or days) late at different airports. The re-routing and re-planning that has to happen—often manually, under pressure, and with limited information—is intense. The question is: how ready are logistics providers to react and recover when events like today’s occur?
These are not one-off events. So-called “Black Swan” disruptions are happening with increasing frequency. Just this week, southern Europe has been battered by storms, damaging key road infrastructure. The Suez Canal remains volatile due to ongoing geopolitical tensions. And now, this unexplained air traffic control event at Heathrow.
The cost of re-routing, delays, and ad hoc decisions is high—not just financially, but reputationally. Every hour counts. Customers downstream expect resilience. They expect their logistics partners to have contingency plans. But are the decisions being made in the moment truly the best ones?
Logistics Resilience in the Age of AI
It’s clear: supply chains are vulnerable, and recovery can be costly. Moving forward, logistics providers must harness technology—especially AI—to become more resilient. AI can process vast amounts of real-time data, evaluate disruption scenarios, and simulate re-routing options at a speed and scale far beyond human capability.
Instead of relying on reactive decision-making, logistics teams can build proactive, data-led strategies. AI tools can help operators understand the impact of a disruption within minutes: What customers are affected? What’s the most cost-effective re-routing plan? Where is spare capacity available in the network?
The future of logistics resilience lies in:
- Real-time data integration (from weather, air traffic control, geopolitical alerts, etc.)
- Predictive disruption modelling
- Automated re-planning and what-if scenario simulation
- Collaborative AI tools that help humans make faster, smarter decisions under pressure
As a sector, we must ask ourselves—are we equipping our operations teams with the tools they need to handle the unexpected? Because while the industry understands the complexity of disruptions like today’s Heathrow incident, our customers only see delays—and expect us to fix them.
Ready to Build More Resilient Operations?
At Problems Solved, we specialise in helping logistics providers build operational resilience using real-world experience, AI-driven tools, and industry best practices. Whether you’re looking to future-proof your disaster recovery planning, embed smart tech into your operations, or improve the speed and quality of your re-planning processes, our team is here to help.
Contact us today to talk about how we can strengthen your supply chain’s ability to react, recover, and adapt—no matter what disruption comes next.