Europe’s busiest airport resumed flights on Saturday morning, but more disruption is expected as it attempts to move planes, passengers and crews.
London’s Heathrow Airport was closed for 18 hours on Friday after a fire at a nearby current substation. However, the airline warned that the confusion would last for several days as they worked to get planes, crews and passengers back on track.
Heathrow’s chief executive praised the airport’s response, but annoyed passengers, airlines and politicians questioned how a single fire would shut down Europe’s busiest airport.
“We have hundreds of additional colleagues in the terminal. We’ll add flights to today’s schedule to promote an extra 10,000 passengers traveling through the airport,” Heathrow said, advised travelers to check with the airline before heading to the airport.
British Airways, the airport’s largest airline, had planned to operate around 85% of its 600 scheduled flights on Saturday. The airline said recovery from such a major incident was “very complicated.”
The fire occurred at a substation 3.2 km from Heathrow, cutting power to the airport and over 60,000 facilities. On Friday, more than 1,300 flights were cancelled, leaving around 200,000 people stuck there.
West London residents reported seeing fireballs and thick smoke after hearing the big explosion. Firefighters controlled the flames in seven hours, but Heathrow remained closed for almost 18 hours. Several flights resumed late Friday.
Authorities do not believe the fire is suspect. The London Fire Service is investigating the electrical systems of the substation.
The disruption sparked criticism of UK infrastructure, with concerns that it was not ready for an emergency. The government said a full investigation is needed to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye defended the airport’s response. “Remember, this situation wasn’t created at Heathrow Airport,” he told British media. “The airport wasn’t closed for days. We closed for hours.”
He explained that Heathrow’s backup power worked as planned, but it wasn’t enough to run the entire airport as the entire airport uses just as much energy as a small city. “Most airports operate this way,” he said, adding that similar confusion will occur elsewhere in the same situation.
Heathrow, one of the busiest airports in the world, handled 83.9 million passengers last year. The sudden closure allowed tourists to compete in around 120 incoming flights landing in different cities and different countries.
It has been one of the worst confusions since Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010, spreading ashes and closure of air travel in Europe for several days.
