Flights at Britain’s Heathrow Airport resumed late on Friday after a massive fire knocked out its power supply, shutting down Europe’s busiest airport for the entire day. The incident stranded tens of thousands of passengers and caused travel chaos around the world.
Heathrow officials reported that teams worked tirelessly to reopen the world’s fifth-busiest airport following the fire, which engulfed a nearby substation on Thursday night. Travelers had been advised to stay away as the airport faced complete closure.
The airport was scheduled to handle 1,351 flights on Friday, accommodating up to 291,000 passengers. However, the unexpected shutdown led to flights being diverted to other airports across Britain and Europe, while many long-haul flights were forced to return to their departure points.
“Tomorrow morning, we expect to be back in full operation, to 100 percent operation as a normal day,” said Heathrow Chief Executive Thomas Woldbye. “What I’d like to do is to apologize to the many people who have had their travel affected… we are very sorry about all the inconvenience.”
Heathrow announced that a limited number of flights would operate on Friday night, primarily to reposition aircraft and bring planes back into London.
Police stated that after an initial assessment, they are not treating the incident as suspicious, although investigations are ongoing. The London Fire Brigade noted that their inquiry would focus on the electrical distribution equipment involved in the blaze.
