Heathrow Airport closes Friday after fire causes power outage

London’s Heathro Airport closed on Friday, when a nearby power substation caught fire, a power outage was disrupted, which disrupted the journey of thousands of passengers planning to fly in or out of Europe’s busiest airport.

The airport was ready to resume the flights at local time on Friday afternoon, the airport posted on X, and said it hopes to run a “full operation” on Saturday.

According to the flight-tracking site flightware, more than 800 flights were canceled inside and outside the airport on Friday, as the most recent updates, to travel to the Major Hub and connect the airport.

The airlines warned the passengers that the disintegration could continue over the weekend, and the airport posted that passengers should not go to the airport unless their airline is advised to do so.

The Metropolitan police of London said that while “there was no indication of foul play,” the anti -terrorism division would now lead the investigation into the fire.

The force said in a post on X, “The location of the substation and the phenomenon on the important national infrastructure, Mate’s counter terrorism command is now making the leading inquiry.”

“This is due to expert resources and abilities within the command that can help in furthering this probe to reduce disruption and identify the cause,” it said.

A spokesman for Heathro said on Friday, “Heathro is experiencing an important power outage at the entire airport.

According to Flightradar24, more than 120 flights were already in the air, when the closure was announced and their originals returned or returned to the airports. About three-fourths of flights were scheduled to depart from Heathro, or 500 flights, and half, 300 flights to the airport were also scrubbed.

According to the aviation data firm Syrium, some 145,000 passengers may be affected by the shutdown.

Airlines from all over the world asked passengers to stay at home due to flying in and out of Heathro.

Thousands of passengers were stranded due to the fire and the closure of the airport. British Airways The most affected airline was, more than half of the Friday program was canceled.

The airline said it would offer a “flexible option” to the passengers to travel from Heathro on Friday through weekend in an online post or to travel from Heathro.

A statement said, “Our teams are currently working hard to review our long-hall schedule as well as our schedule tomorrow and beyond.”

As the fire appears outside the control of the airlines, according to the note issued by the city on Friday, they may not need to cover compensation.

American AirlinesA British Airways partner at the Atlantic said that about 20 flights were diverted or canceled from Thursday and it was provided an overnight hotel for the affected customers. It canceled another 20 on Friday.

It was not clear when its operation would start again, and a spokesman said it would resume the heathro operation “when the condition of the airport is allowed.”

European travel and holiday stock collapsed on the news of the closure of the airport.

UK Energy Minister Ed Milliband described the fire as “destructive”, according to the Reuters, stating that the backup generator of the airport was affected by the explosion.

Talking to ITV’s “Good Morning Britain”, Miliband said that the National Grid told him “it is like a fire, which never, like this, has been seen much, such as what happened earlier,” according to a post on X.

Miliband said that the National Grid was trying to use another backup system to restore electricity at the airport.

Electricity cuts in around 16,000 houses around the airport were also affected. According to the UK Energy Company Scottish and Southern Electricity Network, as GMT at 8 am, the power supply was all restored to around 4,900.

According to its website at Heathro Airport, there is an estimated 1,300 takeoff and landing at the airport per day. This handled a record 83.9 million passengers last year – an increase of about 6% from 2023.

Talking to “Good Morning Britain”, Miliband said on Friday, “We have understood why this happened, and we came to know what are the lessons for the flexibility of our infrastructure.”

He said that the national grid is seeing whether there is “enough flexibility” at the airport, given that the fire has also affected a backup generator.

“This heathro looks quite weak. And so, we have learned to learn a lesson … not only about Heathro, but how we protect our major infrastructure,” Miliband said.

Willy Walsh, CEO of the International Air Transport Association, or an airline industry group, IATA, in an online statement, described as “total plan failure” by the airport, criticized Heathro Airport to be completely dependent on a single power source without an option.

Walsh questioned who would cover the costs of the resulting travel disruption.

“We should find an appropriate allocation of the cost of passenger care compared to the airlines,” he said, when the infrastructure fails, “he said. “Until this happens, heathro has little encouragement to improve.”

Anita Mendirta, a travel and tourism advisor and founder of Consultancy AM&A, described the implications of the airport’s fire and the implications of the closure as “very wide”.

CNBC’s “Squalk Box Europe” told, “We also need to note that passenger is above and above, more than 4,000 tonnes of cargo passes through heathro every day.”

According to a post on the airport website, in 2023, more than 1.4 million tonnes of cargo flew inside and out of Heathro in 2023, with 90% of the goods were taken into the passenger aircraft.

Airport officials said they would update passengers “when more information is available about the resumption of operations.”

Passengers can check the website of Heathro Airport or Social Media Platform, including X, for the latest information.