Willie Walsh, director of the Global Aviation Association's IATA, suggests that the closure of Heathrow Airport on March 21 amid the blackout will raise “serious questions” about the facility's emergency response plans.
Heathrow, one of the busiest hubs in the world, announced it would be closed until 11:59pm on March 21, around 2:30pm local time, and wiped out a full day of flight after a “serious” blackout after a major electrical substation fire. He then warned that disruptions could be expected to last for several days, even after power was restored.
The causes of the blackout are still being investigated, but the report shows counterterrorism officials are involved due to the severity of the fire's impact on critical national infrastructure, but Walsh, who previously headed Heathrow-based British Airways and its parent IAG, described the situation as “a separate case of dumping both Heathrow and aeroin.”
He argues that “critical infrastructure” should not “completely depend on” a single power source. Such a scenario, he adds, represents a “definite failure of a clear planning by the airport.”
A Heathrow Airport statement explains that the facility has a diesel generator and an “uninterrupted power source,” but its backup system allows aircraft to land and evacuate passengers, but does not allow full operations to run.
“Heathrow uses just as much energy as a small city, so it cannot back up all the energy it needs to run your business safely,” the airport says.
Walsh further suggests that “fairer” allocation of costs resulting from dealing with passengers during the mess, rather than “only airlines pick up tabs.”
His comments reflect the point of long-term tension between the association and the airport, with the former claiming that Heathrow's airline rates are high and unfair, especially given the standards of services offered to its customers.
Heathrow operators recently expressed support for reconsidering the rate-setting process, but were often pushed back against airline criticism and regulatory charge capping.
Airlines are also not immune to being the cause of confusion. For example, British Airways, the customer of Heathrow's biggest airline, has suffered from several IT meltdowns over the past decade, causing significant flight delays and cancellations, and has in recent years encouraged system overhauls.
Data from the Aviation Analytics Firm Cirium shows that around 1,330 flights are scheduled for March 21st at Heathrow, potentially carrying up to 291,000 passengers. However, the impact of the closure is felt by more passengers, airlines and airports around the world, given Heathrow's status as a major global hub.
According to business ranking data from the interim airline, the airport served 83.9 million passengers in 2024, fully recovering from the Covid-19 crisis and becoming the busiest airport in the world. In 2023, it served 79.2 million passengers, compared to 89 million in 2019.
