(March 24): London’s Heathrow airport defended its handling of last Friday’s unprecedented shutdown, rejecting assertions it had enough backup power to remain open after a fire knocked out the main substation supplying the hub. 

“It would not have been possible for Heathrow to operate uninterrupted,” the airport said in an emailed statement. “Given Heathrow’s size and operational complexity, safely restarting operations after a disruption of this magnitude was a significant challenge.”

Heathrow was responding to comments over the weekend from National Grid plc chief executive officer John Pettigrew, who told the Financial Times there were enough alternative power supplies to keep the airport running.

The shutdown has led to criticism of the airport for a lack of redundancy systems and the actions of its chief executive officer, Thomas Woldbye. He went home to sleep and left the decision to shut down flights to a deputy, The Times reported. British Airways chief Sean Doyle worked through the night into Friday to reroute flights headed to the airline’s biggest hub.

Heathrow managed to restart a few flights late last Friday after the blackout, but services remained disrupted over the weekend. By Sunday, the airport was operating at close to normal levels. 

The government announced an independent investigation into the fire, which Heathrow said it supports and that “lessons can and will be learned”.

The incident comes at a time when Heathrow is working on an expansion to increase passenger numbers. The government recently supported the airport’s plans to build a third runway, which has been a topic of discussion for decades. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves told Sky News on Sunday that the shutdown shows the importance of building resilience in critical infrastructure, including Heathrow.

Each of two alternate substations had enough power to supply Heathrow, Pettigrew told the Financial Times, after its North Hyde location was shut down by fire. The government has begun an investigation into the cause of the fire, though nothing points to foul play at this stage.

Flights were brought to a standstill and planes were diverted after a blaze broke out at a nearby power station late last Thursday, forcing the airport to close. The backup systems helped the airport to land some aircraft and evacuate passengers, but not to run a full operation. Heathrow says that its power needs are equivalent to those of a small city, making it harder to maintain reserves on that scale. 

Hours after the fire started, Woldbye went to bed, leaving chief operating officer Javier Echave in charge, The Times said.

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