Heathrow's High-Stakes Crisis: Power Outage Chaos Revealed

London's Heathrow Airport faced significant disruptions due to a power outage, affecting thousands of travelers. An independent probe is underway to examine crisis management. The incident has sparked concerns over the resilience of Britain's critical infrastructure, echoing past disruptions like the 2010 volcanic ash cloud.

London's Heathrow Airport resumed full operations on Saturday, initiating a probe into the power failure that paralyzed Europe's busiest air hub. Airlines forecast potential delays and cancellations to persist. British Airways operated most of its Saturday flights, aiming for a near-full schedule Sunday despite the ongoing impact.

The outage, linked to a nearby electrical substation fire, cut into Friday's plan to manage over 1,350 flights and nearly 291,000 passengers. Diversions ensued, with flights rerouted or returned. Britain's energy ministry, seeing critical infrastructure's vulnerability, ordered an urgent investigation by the National Energy System Operator.

Heathrow appointed former transport minister Ruth Kelly to review crisis responses, enhancing resilience against major disruptions akin to the 2010 volcanic ash incident. Meanwhile, airlines and passengers wrestled with schedule upheavals, looking toward resumed operations amid heightened scrutiny and industry critiques.

(With inputs from agencies.)