Heathrow Flights Resume after Massive Fire

• Power outage from a substation fire disrupted flights at Heathrow, affecting 200,000 passengers.

• Flights have resumed, with full service expected by Saturday; overnight restrictions temporarily lifted.

• Initial departures focus on repatriating diverted passengers and relocating aircraft.

Flights have resumed at Heathrow Airport, with full service expected by Saturday, following a massive power outage triggered by a substation fire nearby.

Around 200,000 passengers were affected after operations came to a halt on Friday. Incoming flights were diverted across Europe after a fire broke out at the North Hyde plant in Hayes, west London, on Thursday night.

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Heathrow’s CEO, Thomas Woldbye, apologized for the disruption, calling it “as big as it gets for our airport” and noting that no airport can be protected “100%” from such incidents. He added that power had to be rerouted after a backup transformer failed, forcing systems to shut down for safety.

The Metropolitan Police said the fire was not believed to be suspicious, with the investigation focusing on electrical distribution equipment.

To ease congestion, the Department of Transport lifted restrictions on overnight flights, while airlines, including British Airways, Air Canada, and United Airlines, began restoring services. BA confirmed eight long-haul flights departed Friday evening, with more scheduled.

Initial departures are prioritizing repatriating passengers stranded at other European airports and repositioning aircraft.

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Mr. Woldbye emphasized the scale of the incident, saying: “We lost power equivalent to that of a mid-sized city. Backup systems functioned, but they are not designed to run the entire airport.”

Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest flight updates.

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