Heathrow live: Airport orders investigation into crisis management plans amid ‘laughing stock’ criticism
British Airways says it expects ‘near-full’ schedule at Heathrow on Sunday after fire at electricity substation caused 15-hour shutdown
Heathrow’s chair has ordered an internal investigation into the airport’s crisis management plans and response to the power outage which forced it to close for 15 hours on Friday.
Former transport secretary Ruth Kelly – who is a member of Heathrow’s board – will lead the review after more than 1,300 flights were grounded and up to 300,000 passengers were affected worldwide.
The outage – caused by a fire at a single substation in west London – has been dubbed “a huge embarrassment” by Labour peer Toby Harris, who leads the National Preparedness Commission campaign group, while the boss of supply chain firm PS Forwarding warned the shutdown had left Heathrow a “laughing stock” in the global freight community.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband has separately ordered the National Energy System Operator to “urgently investigate” the electrical substation fire, which is expected to report its findings within six weeks.
Despite the airport saying it was “fully operational” once again on Saturday, at least 100 more flights had been cancelled as of 3pm. However, British Airways – whose main hub is Heathrow – said it expected to have a “near-full” schedule on Sunday.
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Passengers remain nervous after outage
Several passengers travelling to Heathrow from London's Paddington Station were still nervous, the Reuters news agency reports.
“I'm just hoping that when I get there, I can actually go,” said university professor Melissa Graboyes, who said she was repeatedly checking the status of her flight to Toronto.
Heathrow airport returning to normal as investigations ordered into power outage
An investigation into the power outage caused by a substation fire that shut Heathrow has been ordered after about 200,000 passengers were affected by the airport's closure.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband has ordered the National Energy System Operator to "urgently investigate" the power outage caused by a substation fire, and is working with Ofgem and using powers under the Energy Act to formally launch the grid operator's investigation.
Meanwhile, an internal review of the airport's crisis management plans and its response to Friday's power outage will be undertaken by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly, who is an independent member of Heathrow's board, Heathrow chairman Lord Paul Deighton said.
As he ordered the investigation on Saturday, Mr Miliband said: "We are determined to properly understand what happened and what lessons need to be learned.
"That is why, working with Ofgem, I have today commissioned the National Energy System Operator to carry out an investigation into this specific incident and to understand any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure, both now and in the future."
The government is determined to do everything it can to prevent a repeat of what happened at Heathrow."
Full report: Urgent probe ordered into power outage branded ‘national embarrassment’
Ministers have ordered an urgent probe into the substation fire which forced Heathrow airport to close for 15 hours on Friday – as experts warned the remarkable meltdown had “embarrassed” Britain on the global stage.
The travel plans of up to 300,000 passengers were cast into disarray on Friday after the blaze at a single west London substation grounded more than 1,300 flights between Europe’s busiest airport and locations across the globe.
While the airport declared itself “fully operational” once again on Saturday - with hundreds of extra airport staff rallied to facilitate an additional 10,000 passengers travelling through Heathrow - more than 100 flights were cancelled, including those travelling to New York and arriving from Dubai. Heathrow would typically expect to facilitate 600 flights on Saturday.
Read our full report on Saturday’s developments here:
Heathrow airport: Urgent probe into outage which was branded ‘national embarrassment’
Watch: Passengers stranded at Heathrow Airport after substation fire describe chaotic scenes
Travellers to be late to friend's wedding in Cambodia after Heathrow outage
Farah Rafeeq, 24, was due to travel with Singapore Airlines on Friday from Heathrow with her 32-year-old friend Niken Wulan, to another friend’s wedding in Cambodia on Sunday.
The mass cancellation of flights means they will now miss part of the ceremony.
They found an alternative flight from Gatwick airport with Turkish Airlines and Bangkok Airways that will get them to Cambodia for Sunday afternoon.
Ms Rafeeq, who works in climate project management, told the PA news agency from Gatwick on Saturday: “The last few hours have been nightmarish because it is one of our closest friends' wedding and we have to travel for at least 20 hours to get there.
“We had to pay double the amount, between £600 and £700, for the new flight, and we had planned this trip for months and had hotels booked and are flying to South-east Asia after the wedding.”
Heathrow chief says airport forced to rely upon two remaining substations after outage
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said a back-up transformer failed during the power outage on Friday, meaning systems had to be closed in accordance with safety procedures so that power supplies could be restructured from two remaining substations to restore enough electricity to power what is described as a “mid-sized city”.
He apologised to stranded passengers and defended the airport's response to the situation, saying the incident is as “as big as it gets for our airport” and that “we cannot guard ourselves 100 per cent”.
Outage believed to be Heathrow's worst disruption since 2010
Heathrow is Europe’s largest airport, with more than 83.9 million passengers travelling through its terminals in 2024, and around 200,000 passengers have been affected by Friday’s closure.
This is believed to be the worst disruption at Heathrow since December 2010, when thousands of Christmas getaway passengers camped in the terminals because of widespread cancellations caused by snow.
In April of that year, air travel was grounded across Europe because of an ash cloud caused by an Icelandic volcanic eruption.
Disruption expected over coming days, says UK transport secretary
The UK’s transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This incident caused significant disruption but Heathrow, National Grid, and our emergency services have worked swiftly to get people travelling again.
“Heathrow is a massive airport that uses the energy of a small city, so it's imperative we identify how this power failure happened and learn from this to ensure a vital piece of national infrastructure remains strong.
“Whilst Heathrow is back to business, some disruption is expected over coming days as things get back to normal so I encourage anyone travelling to check with their airlines and plan their journeys.”
British Airways expects 'near-full' schedule on Sunday
British Airways – whose main hub is Heathrow – said it expected to have a “near-full” schedule on Sunday.
The flagship carrier said it had operated around 90 per cent of its schedule at Heathrow on Saturday, after chief executive Sean Doyle on Friday warned the “huge impact” of Friday’s outage would last for days.
As of 3pm on Saturday, Heathrow’s live arrivals and departures boards showed that more than 100 flights had been cancelled since Saturday morning.
What caused the fire at Healthrow Airport?
A transformer at the substation caught fire at Heathrow Airport shutting airport for a day on Friday. However, it is not yet known what caused it.
One nearby resident described their room shaking and hearing a loud bang as the substation caught fire.
London Fire Brigade deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said: “The fire involved a transformer comprising 25,000 litres of its cooling oil fully alight.
“This created a major hazard owing to the still live high-voltage equipment and the nature of an oil-fuelled fire.”
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