 "Travellers arrives at Terminal 5 as London's Heathrow Airport says it plans to resume some flights later Friday after a fire at a nearby electrical substation has caused a closure of Europe's busiest airport in London, on Friday. AP")
London’s Heathrow Airport said it would resume “some flights” later Friday and expressed hope for full Saturday operation after a fire at a power station grounded planes at Europe’s busiest air hub, causing travel chaos for thousands of people around the world.
The fire at the electricity substation late Thursday forced the airport to shut down, leading to the cancellation or diversion of hundreds of flights and raising concerns about the infrastructure’s vulnerability.
“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,” The Guardian quoted a Heathrow spokesperson as saying.
“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,” added the spokesperson.
The airport authorities said that their priority remains the safety of their passengers and those working at the airport and apologised for the inconvenience caused by the incident.
“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 by this incident,” said the spokesperson.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHeathrow Airport operates flights to around 80 countries, with as many as 1,350 flights scheduled to arrive or depart from its five terminals on Friday, according to Flightradar24.
Serving about 230,000 passengers daily — equating to 83 million annually — Heathrow is among the world’s busiest airports.
London’s Metropolitan Police announced that its Counter Terrorism Command is investigating the fire due to its significant impact on critical national infrastructure.
“While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time,” AFP quoted a spokesman as saying.
Firefighters responded to the visible blaze at the substation shortly after 23:20 GMT on Thursday, deploying about 70 personnel to control the fire, which was managed by 08:00 GMT Friday.
The incident left 100,000 homes without power overnight. The National Grid reported that power was partially restored to both Heathrow and affected local residents around 14:00 GMT.
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband assured that the government would do everything possible to quickly restore power to Heathrow, amid concerns regarding the airport’s resilience.
With inputs from agencies