The blaze forced Britain’s largest airport to cancel or divert more than 1,000 flights on Friday and removed a linchpin of global air travel. Counterterrorism police were investigating the cause of the fire.
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“We have lost power equal to that of a mid-sized city, and our backup systems have been working as they should, but they are not sized to run the entire airport.” “I’ve come to the airport to make the flight, which I was told was flying today, and I can’t get to the actual airport.” “I don’t want to be stranded here. I only came here for a visit and tourist, and my time here is finished. I have to go back home.”
Megan SpeciaLynsey ChutelEshe Nelson and Thomas Fuller
Megan Specia, Lynsey Chutel and Eshe Nelson reported from London.
Heathrow Airport in London was plunged into chaos after a fire at an electrical substation shut down operations at one of Europe’s busiest air hubs, forcing the airport to cancel or divert more than 1,000 flights on Friday and removing a global linchpin of air travel.
Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, described the disruption as “unprecedented,” telling reporters on Friday that the airport had lost power equal to that of a midsize city, and that though a backup transformer worked as it should, there had not been enough power for the entire airport.
Some flights resumed late Friday. But Mr. Woldbye said, “We expect to be back in full operation, so 100 percent operation as a normal day” by Saturday.
The Metropolitan Police in London said later on Friday, “After initial assessment, we are not treating this incident as suspicious, although inquiries do remain ongoing.” The police said counterterrorism officials would lead the investigation into the cause of the blaze, which broke out Thursday night at an electrical substation northeast of Heathrow.
It was too early on Friday to calculate the precise cost of the outage. But the disruption raised questions about the resilience of Britain’s largest airport and why it appeared to be so reliant on a single electrical substation.
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