Operations at London’s Heathrow Airport resumed late Friday following a major disruption caused by a fire that knocked out its power supply and halted flights for the day. The incident affected tens of thousands of passengers and caused widespread travel delays across the globe.
As of Friday evening, Athens International Airport confirmed that all flights to and from Heathrow were scheduled to proceed as normal.
Heathrow officials worked tirelessly to restore operations after the fire, which engulfed a nearby substation Thursday night, forcing the airport to close completely. Passengers were advised to avoid the airport while the situation was addressed.
The airport had initially planned to handle 1,351 flights on Friday, expected to carry approximately 291,000 passengers. However, many flights were diverted to other airports across the UK and Europe, while several long-haul flights returned to their departure points.
Despite the disruption, Heathrow resumed a limited number of flights Friday, mainly focusing on repositioning aircraft and bringing planes back to London.
“We anticipate being back to full operational capacity tomorrow morning, returning to a normal day,” said Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye. “I would like to apologize to all those affected by the disruption and sincerely regret the inconvenience caused.”
