As Europe’s busiest airport, Heathrow has the power requirements akin to a small city. It is not unreasonable to assume that the National Grid would have suitable back-up infrastructure in place were something to happen to its electricity supply. As the massive fire consumed the North Hyde substation a few miles north of the airport, it was clear it did not. The blaze, which saw 25,000 litres of cooling oil set alight, put Heathrow in the dark on Friday. Some 1,300 flights have been disrupted, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The closure of Heathrow is something of an embarrassment both for the airport and the UK’s reputation as a transport hub. With 84 million passengers passing through its corridors last year, the airport ranks
