Recent power outages at Heathrow Airport and Forth Valley Royal Hospital have underscored vulnerabilities in the resilience of critical infrastructure, revealing significant areas for improvement.

Heathrow Airport Power Outage

On March 21, 2025, a fire at the North Hyde electrical substation near Heathrow Airport led to a substantial power failure, resulting in the cancellation of over 1,300 flights and affecting approximately 300,000 passengers. Despite the presence of backup generators, the outage was severe enough to halt regular operations at Europe’s busiest airport. This incident has prompted the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to review resilience regulations and consider implementing incentives for Heathrow to invest in operational improvements and ensure high-quality service delivery.

Forth Valley Royal Hospital Power Outage

In January 2025, Storm Eowyn caused widespread power outages across Scotland, impacting over 146,000 homes and leading to a critical incident at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. The hospital experienced a power cut, and a delay occurred before backup generators became operational. This delay necessitated contingency measures, including diverting ambulances to other facilities. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the generator failure and to enhance the hospital’s resilience against future power disruptions.

Implications for Critical Infrastructure Resilience

These events highlight several critical concerns:

• Single Points of Failure: Dependence on individual substations or backup systems without sufficient redundancy can lead to widespread disruptions when failures occur.
• Interconnected Vulnerabilities: Failures in one part of the infrastructure can have cascading effects, emphasizing the need for comprehensive risk assessments and integrated contingency planning.
• Regulatory and Operational Oversight: The incidents have spurred regulatory bodies to re-evaluate existing resilience standards and consider measures to incentivize investments in infrastructure robustness.

Addressing these issues requires a holistic approach that includes investing in redundant systems, enhancing coordination among stakeholders, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement in resilience planning. As Richard G. Little emphasized (https://www.ft.com/content/df8b2d08-0aa9-4db1-8035-b2ef509b33de?utm_source=chatgpt.com ), achieving resilient critical systems necessitates a balanced integration of hardware, institutions, and skilled personnel to maintain reliable performance and societal resilience.

These incidents serve as a wake-up call for organizations and authorities responsible for critical infrastructure, highlighting the imperative to strengthen resilience strategies to mitigate the impact of unforeseen events.

Both incidents are proof that preparedness to similar critical incidents, based on COVID19 experience are crucial in forthcoming challenges. The EU projects as SUNRISE and Endurance together with other projects under the European Cluster for Securing Critical Infrastructure (ECSCI) »umbrella«. (https://www.finsec-project.eu/ecsci-contacts ).

Written by: Matjaž Tavčar, University Medical Center Ljubljana (UMCL)