Flights at London Heathrow Airport are set to resume operations after a "catastrophic" fire caused a power outage and travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers. Counter-terrorism police are currently leading the investigation into the fire, which broke out at a nearby electricity substation on Friday evening local time. Authorities are working diligently to determine the exact cause and prevent similar incidents in the future.
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03-22, 2025The London Fire Brigade subsequently told Reuters that the police did not believe the fire was suspicious. The closure of Europe's busiest airport affected approximately 1,300 flights and hundreds of thousands of passengers worldwide. In addition, the fire caused power outages to thousands of homes in the area, highlighting the widespread impact of the incident. Local residents and businesses also faced significant disruptions due to the power loss.
A Heathrow Airport spokesperson apologized for the inconvenience caused by the fire and stated that the priority was to repatriate passengers whose flights had been diverted. The spokesperson said: "Our first flights will be repatriation flights and repositioning aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless you have been notified by your airline." The airport will also work with airlines to repatriate passengers diverted to other airports in Europe and hopes to fully resume operations on Saturday (local time), providing further information as soon as possible. The coordinated effort aims to minimize further delays and ensure passengers reach their destinations safely.
It is understood that Heathrow Airport, as Europe's busiest airport, consumes energy comparable to a small city, so restoring full and safe operations will take time. Airport CEO Thomas Woldbye acknowledged that responses to certain emergencies are often insufficient to always guarantee the airport's safety and apologized for the inconvenience caused by this incident. The airport is committed to enhancing its infrastructure and emergency response protocols to prevent similar disruptions in the future.
The incident has also raised questions about the contingency plans of the world's fifth-busiest airport. UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called the incident "catastrophic" and "unprecedented." International Air Transport Association head Willie Walsh sharply pointed out that it was a clear case of airport planning failure. Although Heathrow Airport has an operational resilience plan designed to identify risks that could disrupt operations, this incident shows that existing contingency measures may not be fully adequate to deal with all situations. In 2023, Heathrow Airport completed a new energy strategy, promising to use more renewable energy "while protecting the resilience of our energy networks," indicating a need for continuous improvement and adaptation of emergency preparedness strategies.
