Watch: Transport minister gives statement after Heathrow Airport shutdown chaos

Watch as transport minister Heidi Alexander makes a statement on Monday (24 March) after a fire at an electricity substation in west London forced Heathrow Airport to close for several hours.

Flights were halted after a fire knocked out an electricity substation in Hayes last Thursday evening, and were not able to resume until Friday evening.

Around 200,000 passengers were disrupted.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has ordered the National Energy System Operator to investigate what happened and provide its initial findings within six weeks.

Heathrow is Europe’s largest airport with more than 83.9 million passengers travelling through its terminals in 2024.

An internal review of the airport’s crisis management plans and its response will be undertaken by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly, who is an independent member of Heathrow’s board.

Ms Alexander earlier said she would have struggled to sleep if she were running Heathrow during the crisis.

She made the comment following a report that the airport’s chief executive went back to bed after the power outage began.