LONDON – Heathrow Airport in London resumed full operations on Saturday after a power outage forced it to close for one day, causing chaos for travelers globally.
The travel industry scrambled to find alternative routes and re-organize disrupted flight schedules following a large fire at a substation that supplied electricity to the airport. Some flights resumed by Friday evening, but the closure of the world’s 5th busiest airport for an entire day left thousands stranded, with many passengers forced to find hotels—scarce and expensive during this peak time—and book replacement tickets. Airlines struggled to return planes and crews to their bases.
A Heathrow spokesperson reported that hundreds of staff were deployed throughout the airport to assist the estimated 1,000 affected passengers. Originally, the airport had scheduled 1,351 flights on Friday, with a peak of 291,000 passengers, but many flights were redirected to other UK and European airports, and long-haul flights returned to their departure airports.
Heathrow’s CEO, Thomas Woldbye, said the airport was expected to be fully operational by Saturday. When asked who would be responsible for the costs of the disruption, he responded, “There are established procedures in place,” adding that the airport had no obligation in cases like this. (TNA)
