Heathrow Airport closes Friday after fire causes power outage

Heathrow Airport in London closed Friday after a fire in an nearby electrical substation caused a power failure, disturbing trips for tens of thousands of passengers who plan to fly in or outside the most frequented airport in Europe.

The first flight since the departure of the closure on Friday evening, and Heathrow Posted on X that he hopes to execute a “complete operation” on Saturday.

Friday, more than 800 flights were canceled in and outside the airport, according to the Flightaware flight tracking site, to the most recent update, upsetting trips to the major center and the connection airport.

Airlines warned travelers that disturbances could continue on weekends, and Heathrow posted that travelers should not go to the airport unless it does it by their airline.

London metropolitan police said it was “no indication of a unfair game”, the anti -terrorist division would now carry out the fire investigation.

“Given the location of the sub-station and the impact that this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the MET counter-terrorism command is now investigating,” said force in a Publish on X.

“This is due to the specialized resources and capacities of this order which can help to progress this survey to minimize the disturbances and identify the cause,” he said.

“Heathrow is experiencing a major power outage across the airport. … While firefighters react to the incident, we have no clarity at the moment when power can be reliable,” said a spokesman for Heathrow earlier on Friday.

According to Flightradar24, more than 120 flights were already in the air when the closure was announced and was diverted or returned to their original airports. Almost three -quarters of the flights planned to leave Heathrow, or 500 flights, and half of the arrivals for the airport, 300 flights, were also rubbed.

Airlines in the world said passengers to stay at home.

The fire and the airport closure left thousands of travelers blocked. British Airways was the most affected airline, with more than half of its Friday calendar.

The airline said it would offer “flexible options” to straighten passengers to go to Heathrow on Friday until weekend, In an online article.

“Our teams are currently working hard to review our long-haul calendar as well as the implications for our schedule tomorrow and beyond,” he said in a statement.

As the fire seems to be outside the control of airlines, they may not be required to cover compensation, according to a note published by Citi on Friday.

American airlinesA British Airways partner across the Atlantic, said nearly 20 flights from Thursday have been diverted or canceled and that he provided hotels for a night for affected customers. On Friday, he canceled another nearly 20 in London or outside London, she said. The carrier planned to operate its full schedule to and from London on Saturday.

European travel and leisure actions have dropped news from the airport closure.

Ed Miliband, British energy minister, described the fire like “catastrophic“According to Reuters, adding that the airport rescue generator was affected by the fire.

Addressing “Good Morning Britain” of ITV, Miliband said that the national grid had told him “it is like a fire that they have never, in a way, completely seen as the scale of what happened before”, according to an article in the program on X.

Miliband added that the national network was trying to use another backup system to restore energy at the airport.

Electric cuts also affected around 16,000 houses around the airport. According to UK Energy and Southern Electricity and Southern Scottish and Southern Scottish and Southern Electriciy Networks, to all except about 4,900.

Heathrow airport estimated 1,300 takeoff and landing at airport per day, according to its website. He managed a record 83.9 million passengers Last year – an increase of almost 6% compared to 2023.

Addressing “Good Morning Britain,” said Miliband on Friday: “We must understand why it happened, and we must determine the lessons for the resilience of our infrastructure.”

He said the national grid examines if there is a “sufficient resilience” in place at the airport, since the fire also affected a rescue generator.

“It makes Heathrow quite vulnerable. And therefore, we must learn lessons … Not only Heathrow, but how we protect our major infrastructure,” said Miliband.

Willie Walsh, CEO of the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, a group of the air transport industry, criticized Heathrow airport to be “totally dependent on a single source of food without alternative”, in a online declarationDescribing it as a “total planning failure” by the airport.

Walsh asked that would cover the costs of the resulting travel disturbances.

“We have to find a fairer allocation of passenger care costs than airlines alone collect the tab when the infrastructure fails,” he said. “Until it happens, Heathrow is very little encouraged to improve.”

Anita Mendiratta, travel and tourism advisor and founder of Consultancy Am & A, described the implications of the fire and the airport closure as “very wide”.

“What we must also take into account is in additionSquawk Box Europe. “”

More than 1.4 million tonnes of cargo stolen in and outside Heathrow in 2023, according to an article on the airport website, with 90% of the goods transported in passenger planes.

Airport managers said they are updating travelers “when more information on the resumption of operations is available.”

Travelers can check Heathrow airport website or social media platforms, including XFor the latest information.