The UK government has ordered an investigation into the "energy resilience" of the country, after a fire at an electrical substation forced the closure of Heathrow Airport for nearly a day and raised concerns about the nation's ability to withstand disasters or attacks on critical infrastructure.
Heathrow is not only the main British airport but also one of the largest in the world in international connections. The lack of solutions to its already saturated capacity is a common debate, but now the issue of its energy supply is added. Although airport authorities indicated this morning that the infrastructure was "fully operational," thousands of passengers remained stranded, and airlines warned that the serious disruption will last for several days as they work to relocate planes and crews to get passengers to their destinations, reports the Associated Press.
Affected passengers, furious airlines, and concerned politicians were seeking answers as to how an apparently accidental fire could shut down Europe's busiest airport.
"This is a great shame for Heathrow Airport. It is a great shame for the country that a fire at an electrical substation could have such a devastating effect," said Toby Harris, a Labour Party politician who heads the National Preparedness Commission, a group campaigning to improve the resilience of the British economy.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has asked the National Grid, responsible for overseeing the UK's gas and electricity networks, to "urgently investigate" the fire, "to understand any general lessons that can be learned about energy resilience for critical national infrastructure."
The organization is expected to present its initial findings within six weeks.
"The government is determined to do everything possible to prevent a repeat of what happened at Heathrow," Miliband said.
More than 1,300 flights were canceled yesterday, and around 200,000 people were stranded after an overnight fire at a substation 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) from the airport cut off the power supply to Heathrow and more than 60,000 properties.
Heathrow authorities have stated that they had "added flights to today's schedule to facilitate the transit of an additional 10,000 passengers." British Airways, the main airline at Heathrow, expected to operate around 85% of its 600 scheduled flights at the airport on Saturday.
While many passengers were able to resume their interrupted journeys, others remain in limbo. Around 90 flights have been canceled.