Heathrow bosses are facing questions about how a fire at a single electricity substation brought one of the world’s busiest airports to a halt.
The airport was shut down for most of the day on Friday after the blaze cut off the power, leaving 200,000 passengers stranded around the globe.
Flights resumed yesterday evening but airlines have warned travellers they still face delays and cancellations as the airport gets back to normal operating levels.
Questions are mounting as to why there was no back-up power source to prevent the airport from having to close completely.
It has also triggered wider concerns about the vulnerability of the country’s critical infrastructure amid fears of terrorism or Russian sabotage.
Counter-terrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police have been leading the investigation into the cause of the fire, although it is not being treated as suspicious.
Sources ‘familiar with the investigation’ told the Politico website they suspect human error was to blame.
Pointing to a mistake by an electrical engineer, they added: ‘It’s always cock-up rather than conspiracy.’
