London's Heathrow Airport 'fully operational' after 18-hour shutdown due to blackout

Heathrow Airport is “fully operational” again, a spokesperson said on Saturday, a day after a power station fire shut down Europe’s busiest airport and disrupted travel.

Earlier, first flight landed at the runway after an 18-hour shutdown on Friday due to a blackout. This shutdown led to widespread flight cancellations, rerouting issues, and left around 200,000 passengers stranded.

The blackout occurred after a fire broke out late Thursday night at a substation about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the airport. Firefighters took about seven hours to bring it under control. Authorities found no signs of foul play, and the London Fire Brigade will investigate the substation’s electrical equipment.

1,350 flights disrupted

Heathrow Airport disrupted at least 1,350 flights, which were either cancelled or diverted, news agency AP reported. The impact of the outage is expected to last for days as passengers reschedule and airlines adjust their schedules.

British Airways jet lands after 18-hour shutdown

After power was restored, Heathrow reopened partially, with a British Airways jet landing just before sunset on Friday. More flights followed, including one from Manchester.

A British Airways flight to Riyadh took off before 9 pm, and the airline planned to operate eight long-haul flights that night. The airport aimed to resume a full schedule by Saturday.

Residents in west London reported hearing a loud explosion, followed by a fireball and thick smoke. At the time of the closure, about 120 flights were in the air—some turned back, while others were diverted to Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle, or Shannon Airport.

“Tomorrow morning, we expect to be back in full operation, to 100% operation as a normal day,” said Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye. “What I’d like to do is to apologise to the many people who have had their travel affected. We are very sorry about all the inconvenience.”

“Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage. To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March. Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience,” the Heathrow Airport authorities said.