Heathrow Airport Considering Legal Action Against National Grid After March Fire
Heathrow Airport is considering legal action against National Grid after a fire in March shut down operations and grounded over 1,300 flights. The blaze started at the North Hyde substation when moisture caused a short circuit in a transformer—a problem first identified in 2018. Despite multiple warnings and chances to carry out maintenance, the issue was repeatedly ignored, according to a damning report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso).
The outage disrupted travel for more than 270,000 passengers and affected local hospitals, road, and rail services. National Grid admitted it was reviewing its oil testing procedures and checking the resilience of substations tied to critical infrastructure, but Heathrow called the failure “catastrophic,” accusing the company of neglect that led to massive losses and chaos.
Meanwhile, Ofgem, the UK’s energy regulator, has launched its own investigation and promised action. The report also highlighted Heathrow’s internal vulnerabilities—its systems couldn’t quickly switch to backup power, relying instead on manual processes. Both the airport and regulators are now demanding major changes to avoid a repeat.
