It comes after Heathrow Airport was forced closed for the whole day after a huge fire tore through an electrical substation supplying its power – with thousands of flights cancelled
Heathrow Airport has announced some of flights will be able to take off today after a massive power outage caused thousands of flights to be cancelled. Travellers were this morning urged not to turn up to the airport after a huge fire tore through the electrical substation supplying its power, sparking a “significant” outage.
Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, is served by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines and other firms who have had to halt flights – causing severe disruption for travellers around the globe. But the airport said in an update shortly after 4pm that it is able to safely resume some flights later today.
A Heathrow spokesperson 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 apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident.”
This morning’s fire was sparked at a nearby National Grid facility, where a transformer – a device which transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another or multiple – erupted in flames. London Fire Brigade said it received 212 calls reporting the fire and deployed 70 firefighters to the scene. The blaze had a knock on effect on global air travel, with London bound flights diverted to Amsterdam, Paris and Ireland.
Some flights that were due to arrive at Heathrow were forced to turn around mid-air, or told to fly to other UK airport such as Gatwick or Manchester, with passengers making their way home from there.
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