Heathrow shutdown is a ‘dramatic learning curve’ in airport crisis management, expert says

The closure of London’s Heathrow Airport due to a nearby fire on Friday has put the focus on the aviation industry’s ability to handle a crisis, according to a travel industry expert.

At the time of writing, Heathrow remained shut after a fire at an electricity substation that caused a power outage on Friday.

“The growth of the [aviation] industry is happening faster than the growth of infrastructure,” said Anita Mendiratta, founder of consultancy AM&A, who stressed that aviation needs to become more resilient to incidents like an energy supply disruption, or to geopolitical or weather events.

The Heathrow outage is “putting a spotlight on the need to make sure that the entire network of energy supply for any … airport around the world has sufficient capability to address a crisis,” Mendiratta told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday. “All of this is a very dramatic learning curve.”

A back-up generator was also affected by the blaze, raising questions over the resilience of the supporting energy infrastructure, according to U.K. energy minister Ed Miliband, while Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) described Heathrow’s reliance on a “single” power source as a “clear planning failure” by the airport.

In an emailed statement, Heathrow said it has multiple sources of energy. “Our back up systems are safety systems which allow us to land aircraft and evacuate passengers safely, but they are not designed to allow us to run a full operation,” Heathrow said.

Mendiratta described the growth of aviation globally as “massive.”

“It is extreme in terms of how it has grown far beyond even 2019 rates,” she said. This raises questions over the industry’s resilience to unplanned weather or geopolitical events and whether the surrounding infrastructure can support it.

Globally, both domestic and international air passenger traffic surpassed pre-Covid-19 levels in early 2024, according to IATA, and passenger numbers are expected to increase by an average of 3.8% annually to 2043, compared to 2023.

“Even though much of the focus of the story is very much on Heathrow and passengers, what we also need to take into account is over and above passenger traffic, over 4,000 tons of cargo go through Heathrow every single day,” Mendiratta added.

Heathrow Airport handled a record 83.9 million passengers in 2024 — up nearly 6% on the year prior — while its cargo transportation increased by 10%.

Whether passengers can get compensation for canceled flights depends on their airlines’ terms, Mendiratta said. As the Heathrow fire appears to be outside of airlines’ control, such reimbursement may not be payable, according to a note issued by Citi on Friday.

Investors will consider short-term costs such as food and beverage, accommodation, alternative flights or land transport for passengers affected by cancelations, Mendiratta flagged, as well as looking at how airlines manage customer care in the long term.

“That, ultimately, is going to be the basis of customer retention, which from an investor point of view is going to be very important … it’s a significant calculation,” she said.

A third runway at Heathrow Airport has long been mooted, with its CEO putting pressure on the U.K. government to make a decision on the controversial expansion by the end of the year. British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said the extra runway was “badly needed” in a January speech.