Flights at London’s Heathrow Airport resumed late Friday following a massive fire that caused a power outage, leading to the closure of Europe’s busiest airport for an entire day. The disruption left thousands of passengers stranded and triggered widespread travel chaos around the world.
Heathrow officials reported that crews worked relentlessly to restore operations after a fire at a nearby substation on Thursday night resulted in a full shutdown. Passengers were urged to stay away as the airport worked to recover.
The closure affected 1,351 scheduled flights, impacting up to 291,000 passengers. Many flights were redirected to other UK and European airports, and some long-haul flights had to return to their departure points.
A limited number of flights resumed on Friday to reposition aircraft, with full operations expected to resume by Saturday morning. Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye issued a public apology, acknowledging the frustration and inconvenience faced by affected passengers.
Authorities have ruled out any criminal activity but are still investigating the cause of the fire. The London Fire Brigade’s inquiry will focus on the electrical distribution equipment involved.
The shutdown not only left travelers frustrated but also sparked anger among airlines, with many questioning how such a critical failure could happen. Industry experts estimate the financial impact could reach tens of millions of pounds, with potential disputes over liability.
Woldbye defended the airport’s backup systems, explaining that while Heathrow has contingency plans in place, large-scale incidents of this nature are difficult to prevent entirely.
