Heathrow Airport Resumes Operations After Major Power Outage

Heathrow Airport has officially resumed operations following an unprecedented power outage that disrupted services for hours. The airport announced the restart of its operations on social media platform X, advising travelers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport.

By Friday evening, some aircraft had begun taxiing towards the runways. However, British Airways, the national carrier, has projected that only about 85% of its scheduled flights will be operational on Saturday, with further delays expected as the situation normalizes.

The UK Department for Transport temporarily lifted restrictions on nighttime flights to alleviate congestion at the airport. The cause of the incident, which stemmed from a fire at a substation that supplies power to the airport, remains under investigation. Airport CEO Woldbye stated that such an event had never occurred before.

Transport Minister Heidi Alexander confirmed there are currently no indications of sabotage, although anti-terrorism investigators are examining the scene due to its proximity to critical national infrastructure. Woldbye described the incident as significant, comparing the power outage to that experienced by a medium-sized city. He noted that while backup systems designed for emergency landings and evacuations functioned correctly, they were not intended to sustain full airport operations.

Initial reports indicated that over 200,000 passengers were affected by the outage, with financial repercussions for both the airport and airlines estimated to be in the tens of millions. In Germany, around 9,000 passengers were reported to be stranded due to the disruption at Heathrow, which is the fifth busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic. The outage triggered a domino effect, impacting travelers and flight crews globally.

Many individuals shared their experiences of being stranded abroad or rerouted from flights bound for Heathrow. On Friday evening, British Airways announced the cancellation of several flights to distant destinations in Africa and Asia. The first aircraft to land after the incident was reported to have arrived from Gatwick Airport, a secondary airport in London that served as a diversion for redirected flights.

The fire was reported late Thursday night, prompting a response from approximately 70 firefighters who worked to contain the blaze at the substation. Woldbye explained that the airport has three substations, each equipped with a backup transformer, which were also affected by the fire. As a result, while the airport was not completely without power, it required a reorganization of its power supply, leading to a deliberate shutdown of systems as a precautionary safety measure.

Woldbye stated that investigating such a serious incident will take time, emphasizing the need for thorough analysis. Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his gratitude to emergency services for their efforts in ensuring public safety and indicated he would continue to receive updates on the situation.