Heathrow Airport and the British Government have launched investigations into how a power outage resulted in one of the world’s busiest airports closing for almost a day.
Heathrow said it had asked independent board member, former Transport Minister Ruth Kelly, to review the airport's crisis-management plan and response to the incident last Friday, Reuters reported in an article.
The airport, the world's fifth-busiest, resumed normal operations on Saturday, a day after 1,351 flights flying up to 291,000 passengers were affected by the closure of the crowded London aviation hub due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband ordered an urgent investigation, led by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
"We are determined to properly understand what happened and what lessons need to be learned," Miliband was quoted as saying in a BBC story.
The fire broke out at the North Hyde substation in west London that supplies power to the airport.
The last disruption of this scale at a European airport was during the 2010 when Icelandic volcanic ash cloud grounded 100,000 flights.
Heathrow Airport, Britain’s busiest airport is owned by FGP Topco Limited, a consortium owned and led by Ardian (22.61%), Qatar Investment Authority (20.00%), Public Investment Fund (15.01%), GIC (11.20%), Australian Retirement Trust (11.18%), China Investment Corporation (10.00%), Ferrovial S.A. (5.25%), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (2.65%), and Universities Superannuation Scheme (2.10%).
