LONDON: London’s Heathrow Airport roared back to life after an 18-hour closure, with British Airways becoming the first airline to resume operations following a major power outage caused by a fire at an electrical substation.
Power was restored in time for a British Airways flight to land before sunset on Friday, marking the reopening of Europe’s busiest airport. More flights soon followed, including one from Manchester.
Departures also resumed, with a British Airways flight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, taking off just before 9 PM local time (Saturday, 2:30 AM IST). The airline scheduled eight long-haul flights for Friday evening and planned to fully restore operations by Saturday.
The outage, which affected both Heathrow and nearby residential areas, caused widespread travel disruptions. FlightRadar24 reported that at least 1,350 flights were impacted, affecting roughly 200,000 passengers. Around 120 aircraft were airborne when the shutdown was announced—some were forced to return to their departure points, while others diverted to alternate airports such as Gatwick (London), Charles de Gaulle (Paris), and Shannon (Ireland).
The crisis began just before midnight on Thursday when a fire broke out at a substation located 2 miles (3.2 km) from Heathrow. Firefighters battled the flames for seven hours, with 10 fire engines and 70 personnel deployed. Around 150 residents were evacuated, and while 67,000 customers initially lost power, most services were restored by morning.
This disruption ranks among Heathrow’s most significant in recent history, comparable to the 2010 Icelandic volcanic eruption that shut down European airspace. The airport, which served 83.9 million passengers last year, typically commences operations at 6 AM due to night flight restrictions.
Investigation Underway, No Suspicion of Foul Play
Given the substation’s proximity to key infrastructure, the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit is leading the investigation, though officials have confirmed that the incident appears "non-suspicious."
While Heathrow’s emergency power systems activated as expected, they proved inadequate for full-scale operations. Airport CEO Thomas Woldbye defended Heathrow’s contingency measures, calling the situation “unprecedented.”
The disruption has sparked renewed debate about Britain’s infrastructure resilience. Alan Mendoza of the Henry Jackson Society raised concerns over the country’s ability to protect critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized the need for a "thorough investigation" to prevent future occurrences.
