Heathrow Airport had been cautioned about the "resilience" of its power supply just days before a fire led to a shutdown lasting over 24 hours last month.
Nigel Wicking, chief executive of the Heathrow Airline Operators' Committee, informed a group of MPs on Wednesday that he had raised his concerns with the Team Heathrow director on 15 March.
Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s chief executive, apologized to the nearly 300,000 passengers whose travel plans were disrupted due to the closure on 21 March, caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation.
Expressing his "deepest regrets," Woldbye described the incident as "unprecedented" and acknowledged the "significant inconvenience and concern" it caused.
Speaking before the transport committee, Mr. Wicking explained that his concerns stemmed from previous incidents of wire and cable theft affecting the power supply, one of which had temporarily knocked out the runway lights—an essential component for passenger safety.
"This was worrying, and I wanted to gain a better understanding of the overall resilience of the airport’s power supply," he said.
He also pointed out that Heathrow is the most expensive airport globally in terms of passenger charges, adding, "That should mean we have the best service and infrastructure."
On the day of the power failure, airlines were forced to divert 120 aircraft, a decision not taken lightly. According to Mr. Wicking, by the time he joined a call with NATs, the national air traffic service, at 05:30, "all available diversion space in the UK had been exhausted."
"As a result, aircraft had to be rerouted to Europe, with some even turning back to their bases in India after traveling halfway across the continent," he said. "This led to severe disruption, not only for diverted flights but also for numerous cancellations."
Mr. Woldbye stated that Heathrow first became aware of the power loss during the early hours of 21 March.
"In our operations centre, you could see all the red lights indicating systems were shutting down," he explained. "We had no immediate information about the cause."
A short time later, the fire department notified them that the substation was on fire.
Although Heathrow is powered by three substations, the loss of one led to a significant power outage at the airport.
Mr. Woldbye explained that a third of the airport lost power, with Terminal 2 and key central systems being particularly affected. He emphasized that the situation quickly became "primarily a safety concern."
"Our priority in any crisis is ensuring people's safety," he said.
However, he reassured that critical safety systems, including the runway, runway lighting, and the control tower, functioned as expected.
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