Heathrow Airport in London Returns to Full Operations Following Power Outage Linked to Fire

London, March 22 (NationPress) Heathrow Airport in London announced on Saturday that it has resumed full flight operations following a power outage, declaring the airport is now “fully operational”.

In a statement, the airport confirmed, “We can confirm that Heathrow is open and fully operational today. Teams across the airport continue to do everything they can to support passengers impacted by yesterday's outage at an off-airport power substation.”

To assist in managing the backlog, hundreds of additional staff members have been deployed.

They noted, “We have added flights to today's schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport.” Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest flight information.

The airport's Chief Executive, Thomas Woldbye, indicated he does not anticipate “major amounts” of delays or cancellations on Saturday but acknowledged that airlines would need to accommodate passengers affected by the earlier disruption.

Woldbye expressed his “sincere apologies” for the inconvenience caused to travelers but defended the decision to close the airport, emphasizing that the power substation is outside Heathrow's infrastructure.

“We were handling the consequences of that failure,” he stated.

The temporary closure of Heathrow, recognized as one of the world's busiest airports, is estimated to have disrupted the travel itineraries of around 200,000 people, as reported by The Guardian.

In the meantime, counter-terrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police are spearheading the investigation into the fire at the nearby electricity substation that led to the airport's closure.

A spokesperson for the Met noted that their Counter Terrorism Command is leading the inquiry due to “the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure.”

While there is “currently no indication of foul play,” the spokesperson mentioned that investigators are keeping an “open mind” regarding the cause of the fire.

Following two explosions and a fire at an electrical substation in Hayes, west London, on Thursday night, flights were canceled, residents were evacuated, and local schools were closed, as reported by Xinhua news agency. Some aircraft were redirected to other airports, including London Gatwick Airport, airports in Paris, and Shannon Airport in Ireland.

Heathrow, which served a record 83.9 million passengers last year, stated that its backup diesel generators had “all operated as expected... but they are not designed to allow us to run a full operation.”

Ofgem, the energy regulator in Britain, announced it would initiate a review “to understand the cause of this incident and what lessons can be learned.”