Thu, 08 May 2025

Thu, 08 May 2025 Heathrow shutdown cause still unknown, report says

An interim report finds power was restored to Heathrow seven hours before flights resumed.

* The cause of a fire that led to the shutdown of Heathrow Airport remains unknown.
* The fire started at a nearby electrical substation in Hayes, west London, on March 20 and caused a power outage at the airport.
* A transformer disconnected and caught fire at the substation, causing a simultaneous loss of connection.
* Over 270,000 journeys were affected by the shutdown.
* The Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism unit investigated but found no evidence to suggest the incident was suspicious.
* Energy Secretary Ed Miliband ordered an urgent investigation into the fire to prevent it from happening again.
* Neso's interim report said that power was restored to Heathrow's terminals seven hours before flights resumed, and that a major incident was declared by the Met Police at 00:42.
* Neso's chief executive Fintan Slye said that the right lessons should be learned from this incident to prevent future instances.
* Heathrow's management has been criticized for the decision to close the airport and the long shutdown that followed.
* The final report is due by the end of June.
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