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• https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/heathrow-airport-power-outage-timeline-flights-cause-b2747035.html - Please view link - unable to able to access data
• https://www.ft.com/content/88f28e27-e210-4ee0-b1c4-f04e9d067316 - An interim report reveals that Heathrow Airport took more than seven hours to resume flight operations after power was restored to its terminals following a fire at a nearby electricity substation on March 21, 2025. The fire led to widespread outages, including at the airport, affecting approximately 67,000 homes and businesses. Although power was fully restored to the airport by late morning and technical systems were operational by mid-afternoon, flights only resumed later in the evening with the airport not fully reopening until the next day. The delay frustrated airlines, especially those based at Terminal 5, which believed operations could have restarted sooner. The report attributes the outage to a transformer fire at the North Hyde substation in West London but states the root cause remains unidentified. The blaze triggered automatic shutdowns in the backup systems, cutting off power. The final report, expected by the end of June, is set to provide recommendations on improving the resilience of the UK’s energy infrastructure. Heathrow and government officials, including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, stressed the need for answers and improvements to prevent future disruptions.
• https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/cause-heathrow-shutdown-fire-still-unknown-initial-report-says-2025-05-08/ - An interim report by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has revealed that the cause of the March 21 fire at an electricity substation near Heathrow Airport remains unknown. The incident led to a nearly day-long shutdown of all four terminals at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, resulting in tens of millions of pounds in losses for airlines and stranding thousands of passengers. Although police previously stated the fire was not suspicious, forensic investigations by the London Fire Brigade and National Grid Electricity Transmission are ongoing. The outage has triggered concerns over the resilience of the UK's energy infrastructure. NESO plans to release a final report in June, offering recommendations for improving energy system resilience and future response plans. Heathrow Airport expressed hope that the final findings would clarify how the fire began and why two transformers were affected, aiding in enhancing the security of the UK’s power grid.
• https://apnews.com/article/668ed41edff79d2e6f837eae6c41a5b8 - Heathrow Airport defended its response to a fire that led to nearly a day-long suspension of operations. The fire, which affected one of the three electrical substations supplying power to Heathrow, resulted in the cancellation of over 1,300 flights, impacting more than 200,000 passengers. Although the airport reopened after 18 hours, reconfiguring its electrical supply posed significant challenges. Authorities have ordered an investigation into the resilience of the UK's electrical system against accidents or attacks. Initially, the counter-terrorism police led the investigation considering the possibility of sabotage, though there is currently no evidence of foul play. However, the need to reinforce critical infrastructure against potential malicious incidents is being raised. Meanwhile, executives from the airport and the electricity network exchanged blame over the incident's response.
• https://www.ft.com/content/670758a0-6631-43c9-a828-7471ea128d5b - National Grid CEO John Pettigrew stated that the electricity transmission network was capable of supplying sufficient power to Heathrow during the nearly 24-hour airport shutdown caused by a fire at the North Hyde substation on Thursday. Despite the 'unprecedented' fire, two additional substations remained operational during the incident. However, Heathrow had to reconfigure its internal electricity networks to switch safely, leading to the airport's paralysis on Friday and the cancellation of over 1,300 flights, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers and costing airlines an estimated £60-70 million. While National Grid maintained there was always enough capacity to supply the airport, Heathrow argued that the incident was unprecedented and uninterrupted operation would not have been possible. Airlines have expressed frustration over the duration of the shutdown and the recovery process. An official investigation into the incident has been ordered to assess the need for additional resilience measures in the future.
• https://www.huffingtonpost.es/global/el-aeropuerto-heathrow-reanuda-vuelos-cierre-incendio-subestacionectrica.html - Heathrow Airport resumed flights after a fire at a nearby electrical substation in Hayes, west of London, caused a power outage, leading to the cancellation of over 1,300 flights. The incident, which occurred last Thursday, was described as 'serious' by CEO Thomas Woldbye, who explained that the loss of electricity was equivalent to that of a medium-sized city. Although backup systems functioned correctly, they were not designed to supply the entire airport. Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport with 83.4 million passengers in 2024, has returned to normal and has asked passengers to check the status of their flights with their airlines before heading to the airport.
• https://elpais.com/internacional/2025-03-22/las-aerolineas-advierten-que-necesitaran-varios-dias-para-remontar-el-caos-de-heathrow.html - The first flights have taken off from Heathrow after the chaos caused by a fire that paralyzed the airport and left thousands of passengers grounded. The fire occurred due to a power outage at an external substation. Airlines have warned that normalcy will not be fully restored for several days due to logistical challenges. British Airways has canceled many flights and faces complexities in restoring full operations. The Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism department is leading the investigation into the fire, although there is no suspicion that it was intentional. The incident has raised questions about the airport's capacity to handle such disruptions and has generated criticism over how the costs of infrastructural problems impacting airlines are distributed. Nearly 200,000 passengers were affected, marking the largest incident at Heathrow since 2010.