Heathrow has now said it will resume some flights later today, Friday, March 21, after completely shutting down earlier due to a power outage caused by a fire at a substation nearby. The airport said it would prioritize customers who were diverted to European airports. The airport authorities also said it hopes to be fully operational on Saturday, March 22. The authorities also warned customers to check with their airline and not to travel to Heathrow unless advised to do so by their airline.
Heathrow’s closure will likely affect more than 1,300 flights extending into the days ahead. Disruptions will be felt across the world, Heathrow authorities warned. All flights — about 120 — were diverted from Heathrow and, so far, Amsterdam and Gatwick airports are the most common destinations for the diverted aircraft but also Paris, Frankfurt, Shannon and other locations took diverted aircraft. More than 1,100 flights have already been canceled.
A statement from Heathrow Airport 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 apologize for the inconvenience caused by this incident.”
The airport says alternate power sources did work as expected but were not enough to power the whole airport.
British Airways announced it has been given the go ahead to resume flights beginning at 7:00pm local time.