London’s Heathrow Airport has begun the process of reopening on Friday after a massive fire at a nearby substation knocked out power, forcing the airport to shut down for an entire day. The closure stranded thousands of passengers and caused widespread travel disruptions globally. Heathrow Airport said it is expecting to run a full operation on Saturday.
The disruption was triggered by a fire that engulfed an electricity substation near the airport on Thursday night. The resulting power failure forced Heathrow, the world’s fifth-busiest airport, to halt all flight operations.
When will flight operations be fully restored?
Airport authorities worked through the night to restore services. In a statement on X, Heathrow confirmed that teams had been working tirelessly to ensure a swift recovery.
“Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We’re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft,” the airport said.
“We’re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft,” the statement read. “We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further updates. Our priority remains the safety of our passengers and those working at the airport. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident.”
The sudden shutdown left airlines frustrated, with many questioning how such a critical infrastructure failure could happen.
“You would think they would have significant back-up power,” a senior executive from a European airline told Reuters.
The financial impact of the disruption is expected to reach tens of millions of pounds, sparking debates over liability and compensation.
While police stated there was no immediate indication of foul play, counter-terrorism officers are leading the inquiry due to the sensitive nature of the infrastructure.