A body representing more than 90 airlines using Heathrow airport said there might be a case for legal action if a settlement over the costs incurred from Friday’s closure after a fire is not reached.

Europe’s largest airport was closed in the early hours of Friday morning after the blaze at a major electricity substation hit electricity supplies.

No planes were allowed to take off or land, causing diversions which affected about 1,300 flights and roughly 250,000 passengers.

Some flights resumed on Friday evening but airlines faced difficulties and passengers were disrupted due to airline crew being in different parts of the world.

Nigel Wicking, the chief executive of Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee representing more than 90 airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, told Sky News he hoped an agreement over the costs from the closure could be “amicably settled at some point in time”.

But he acknowledged that “there might be a case for legal action” if they did not get “good enough recourse and repayment in terms of the costs”, adding: “I would hope not. But in some of these situations that’s the only course once you’ve gone through everything else.”

Wicking also criticised the west London airport’s communication. He said it was “appalling” that airlines had to wait until midnight on Friday to confirm terminal 2 would open on Saturday.

Wicking added the situation was “not justifiable given the amount of money that has been spent on Heathrow over the years and the fact that it is the most expensive airport in the world”.

By mid-afternoon on Friday, the airport had told all airlines to begin preparations for a full schedule on Saturday, the Guardian understands.

Wicking also called for an independent investigation into what happened and the length of time it took for flights to resume.

An internal review of the airport’s crisis management plans and its response will be undertaken by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly, who is an independent member of Heathrow’s board.

On Saturday, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, ordered an investigation into the power outage which will be led by the National Energy System Operator.

A Heathrow spokesperson told the Guardian on Monday: “This was an unprecedented issue which began with a fire at an off-airport substation, in less than 24 hours the entire airport was rebooted from a standing start and we delivered a full schedule from Saturday onwards.

“There are two reviews into the systems and response both at Heathrow and with the wider grid infrastructure.

“We will support these and lessons will be learned where needed. Every penny we invest in our airport infrastructure is approved by airlines and our regulator. On a project-by-project basis, they oversee and influence how we build and maintain Heathrow.”

Heathrow is Europe’s largest airport, with more than 83.9 million passengers travelling through its terminals in 2024.