Power was restored to Heathrow airport’s terminals seven hours before flights resumed on the day it was closed because of a substation fire, an investigation has found.
An interim report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) found the flow of electricity to all four of the west London airport’s passenger terminals was restarted by 10.56am on March 21.
Flights did not resume until approximately 6pm.
Neso said power was restored to the “wider Heathrow Airport Limited network” by 2.23pm.
That was followed by “a period of safety checking” to ensure “safety-critical systems were fully operational prior to passengers arriving at the airport”.
More than 270,000 air passenger journeys were disrupted by the closure.
The fire at the nearby North Hyde substation started late the previous evening.
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Read More
