LONDON — The British government has launched an investigation into the country’s energy resilience following an electrical substation fire that caused major disruptions at Heathrow Airport, raising concerns over the UK’s ability to withstand infrastructure failures.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said he has tasked the National Energy System Operator with conducting an urgent review of the fire that forced Heathrow’s closure for almost 18 hours. “The government is determined to do everything it can to prevent a repeat of what happened at Heathrow,” Miliband said, adding that initial findings are expected within six weeks.
The fire at a substation two miles from the airport on Friday cut power to Heathrow and over 60,000 properties. More than 1,300 flights were canceled, affecting nearly 200,000 passengers. While Heathrow announced it was “fully operational” by Saturday, severe disruptions are expected to persist as airlines work to reposition aircraft and crews.
Heathrow has also launched its own review, led by former Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, to assess its crisis management response and recovery efforts. “The robustness and execution of Heathrow’s crisis management plans, the airport’s response during the incident, and how the airport recovered will all be examined,” said Heathrow Chairman Paul Deighton.
British Airways, the airport’s largest airline, said it aimed to operate 85% of its scheduled 600 flights on Saturday, with Heathrow adding additional services to accommodate 10,000 extra passengers. However, many travelers remain stranded.
Among them is Laura Fritschie from Kansas City, who was traveling home after a family vacation in Ireland when she learned of her father’s passing. Her connecting flight from Heathrow to Chicago was canceled. “I’m very frustrated,” she said. “This was my first big vacation with my kids since my husband died, and now this. I just want to go home.”
Passengers aboard approximately 120 flights were forced to reroute midair, with some landing in different cities or even different countries. Mark Doherty, whose flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Heathrow was diverted back to New York, expressed his frustration. “Typical England—got no back-up plan,” he said.
Authorities are facing scrutiny over Britain’s aging infrastructure, much of which has been privatized since the 1980s. Labour Party politician Toby Harris, chair of the National Preparedness Commission, called the situation “a huge embarrassment” for both Heathrow and the UK. “A fire in one electricity substation shouldn’t be able to cripple Europe’s busiest air hub,” he said.
The London Fire Brigade has launched an investigation into the electrical distribution equipment at the affected substation but said there is no indication the fire was suspicious.
The Labour government has pledged to invest in the UK’s energy, rail, and water systems to enhance resilience. “We’ve spent the last 40 or 50 years making services more efficient, stripping out redundancy, simplifying processes, and adopting a ‘just-in-time’ economy,” Harris said. “But we also need to plan for ‘just in case.’”
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye defended the airport’s response, saying, “The airport didn’t shut for days. We shut for hours.” He acknowledged that Heathrow’s emergency backup power worked as designed but was insufficient to maintain full airport operations. “That’s how most airports operate,” he said, adding that similar issues would arise elsewhere under the same circumstances.
However, Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), criticized Heathrow’s infrastructure planning. “How is it that critical infrastructure—of national and global importance—is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative?” he asked. “That is a clear planning failure.”
Walsh also argued that Heathrow has little financial incentive to improve, as airlines bear the costs of compensating stranded passengers rather than the airport itself.
The incident marks one of Heathrow’s most significant disruptions since the 2010 eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which halted European air travel for days.
