The British government has launched an urgent investigation into the cause of a fire at an electricity substation that left Heathrow Airport in London without power, disrupting over 1,000 flights and stranding thousands of passengers. The incident has raised concerns about the resilience of Britain’s key infrastructure and whether the country has invested enough to maintain it.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has vowed to “properly understand what happened” and “learn lessons” from the incident. However, experts say that the blackout was likely unavoidable given the scale of the blaze at the substation. The National Grid, which manages the country’s electricity supply, has faced criticism for its outdated technology and lack of backup capacity.
Experts warn that most airports do not have sufficient backup power to run their entire operations after being disconnected from the grid. To provide power for a full day, airports would require at least 20 diesel generators, each producing a megawatt of electricity. The incident has also drawn comparisons with other major airport outages, including those experienced by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Kennedy International Airport in the US.
The investigation is expected to produce preliminary results in six weeks, while Heathrow Airport plans to operate a full schedule of over 1,300 flights on Sunday as airlines try to clear the backlog. The transport secretary has called for an urgent review of the power failure and its causes, emphasizing the need to ensure Britain’s national infrastructure remains strong.
The incident highlights concerns about the government’s ability to invest in critical infrastructure projects amid financial pressures. The Prime Minister is facing pressure to increase military spending while also trying to address funding gaps in public services such as healthcare.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/world/europe/heathrow-airport-fire-infrastructure.html