Travelers faced chaos on Friday after a fire at an electrical substation caused major disruptions at Heathrow Airport, but services are set to resume fully on Saturday.
Heathrow Airport Resumes Flights After Electrical Fire Disruption
Heathrow Airport Resumes Flights After Electrical Fire Disruption
Significant travel disruptions persist as Heathrow attempts to restore normalcy following a power outage.
Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest in the world, began its recovery efforts on Saturday after operations were largely halted due to a fire that broke out at a nearby electrical substation on Friday. This incident not only disrupted air travel but also left tens of thousands of homes in western London without power. Authorities confirmed that there was currently no evidence pointing to foul play regarding the cause of the fire, which the Metropolitan Police are actively investigating.
As British Airways, the major airline operating from Heathrow, prepared for a busy Saturday, they reported that approximately 85% of the nearly 600 scheduled flights would be operational, though widespread delays were still anticipated. The airline opted to cancel several flights on routes with higher traffic levels to ease the rebooking process for passengers.
The chaos began early Friday morning when the electrical fire prompted the cancellation of over a thousand flights, affecting travel plans for more than a quarter of a million individuals, according to aviation data provider Cirium. Although some arrivals resumed later in the day, the aftermath of the fire continued to hinder operations. A spokesperson for Heathrow cautioned passengers against traveling to the airport without confirmation from their airlines, urging patience as they worked to return flights to a normal schedule.
Reports from tracking service Flightradar24 indicated that planes from international locations like Hong Kong, South Africa, and Brazil were en route to Heathrow early Saturday morning. Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow's CEO, explained the power loss incident occurred despite a backup transformer functioning correctly, indicating that the backup was insufficient to sustain the airport's operations.
Firefighters faced challenges in extinguishing the blaze, attributed largely to the large quantities of cooling oil stored at the substation. Nonetheless, Britain’s National Grid reported that emergency measures had been taken in order to partially restore power to both the airport and affected customers temporarily.
As authorities continue to investigate the incident, travelers and airlines are left navigating the complexities of an operational return amidst ongoing delays and cancellations.
