Heathrow confirms power adequacy despite operational shutdown
- A fire at a substation near Heathrow led to an 18-hour operational shutdown.
- National Grid's chief executive stated that power was always available from two other substations.
- Heathrow's management prioritized safety, confirming the shutdown was necessary despite available power.
On Friday, March 22, 2025, Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom experienced a significant operational disruption due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation. The incident led to the airport shutting down operations for approximately 18 hours, causing chaos for around 1,300 affected flights and inconveniencing approximately 200,000 passengers. The fire occurred just after midnight, resulting in immediate concerns over power access for the airport as it relies heavily on the National Grid for electricity. While the fire took a major transformer out of service, John Pettigrew, the chief executive of National Grid, confirmed that two additional substations remained operational and had sufficient capacity to support the airport's needs. However, Heathrow's management emphasized that the shutdown was necessary for safety reasons, as they needed to safely transition power supplies from the damaged substation. They stated that critical systems had to be systematically powered down and rebooted to ensure safe operations, a process which takes time when restoring infrastructure of such complexity. The Heathrow Airport CEO, Thomas Woldbye, alongside the National Grid's comments, indicated that the airport's shutdown was not solely a lack of power issue but rather a response to the unique challenges posed by the transformer fire. Woldbye noted that the decision to close was made to ensure the safety of passengers and aircraft. The airport utilized emergency backup power sources during the disruption, although these were limited to essential safety systems. The incident has sparked considerable criticism and scrutiny over the handling of the situation. Airlines and passengers called for explanations regarding the extensive duration of the shutdown. In response to the criticisms, the UK government launched an investigation to evaluate the resilience of Heathrow's power infrastructure and crisis management protocols to prevent similar occurrences in the future. The investigation, led by the National Energy System Operator, aims to analyze the effectiveness of existing power supply systems and identify opportunities for improvement at Europe's busiest airport. As Heathrow works on recovering from this unprecedented incident, the focus remains on ensuring that they can manage such crises more effectively in the future.