Air transport group criticizes London Heathrow’s reliance on single power source
'Yet another case of Heathrow letting down both travelers and airlines,’ says IATA head amid global travel chaos
Workers investigate the electrical substation following a fire at an electrical substation supplying power to the facility, in London, United Kingdom on March 21, 2025.
LONDON
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Friday slammed the management of London’s Heathrow Airport after a power outage forced its closure due to the airport’s reliance on a single power source, sparkig global travel chaos.
“This is yet another case of Heathrow letting down both travelers and airlines,” said IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh in a statement.
The IATA, which represents over 340 airlines and accounts for more than 80% of global air traffic, said the disruption will inconvenience “a huge number of travelers.”
“How is it that critical infrastructure – of national and global importance – is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative?” Walsh said, adding that if this is indeed the case, it signals a serious planning failure.
The outage was caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation, which also knocked out power to much of the surrounding area.
The IATA chief highlighted the issue of accountability, saying the infrastructure failure raises the question of who should bear the costs associated with disrupted travelers.
“We must find a fairer allocation of passenger care costs than airlines alone picking up the tab when infrastructure fails,” he said. “Until that happens, Heathrow has very little incentive to improve.”
Heathrow said in a statement that customers should expect significant disruption “over the coming days” and advised passengers not to travel to the airport.
London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed that its counter-terrorism command is leading inquiries into the cause of the fire but emphasized there is “currently no indication of foul play.”
“We are working with the London fire brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation. Given the location of the sub-station and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s counter-terrorism command is now leading inquiries," a Met spokesperson said.
