2 lakh passengers hit after London airport blaze; flights resume

As many as 1,350 flights were hit as Britain’s Heathrow Airport was closed all day on Friday after a fire at a nearby electrical substation knocked out its power, disrupting flights for hundreds of thousands of passengers at Europe’s busiest travel hub.

After several hours, Heathrow Airport said it was safely able to begin some flights. The airport announced early on Friday it would be closed until 11.59 pm because of the fire. Around 2,00,000 passengers have been affected by the closure.

Online flight tracking service Flightradar24 said more than 1,350 flights were scheduled to take off or land at Heathrow on Friday. Heathrow has also apologised for the inconvenience caused by the power outage.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We're pleased to say we're now safely able to begin some flights later today. Our first flights will be repatriation flights and relocating aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so.”

“We will now work with the airlines on repatriating the passengers who were diverted to other airports in Europe. We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly. Our priority remains the safety of our passengers and those working at the airport. As the busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow uses as much energy as a small city, therefore getting back to a full and safe operation takes time. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”