By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-03-22 00:15:10 | Updated at 2025-03-22 03:52:17
3 hours ago
Heathrow Airport will be back to 100% Saturday “like a normal day,” the head of the major transit hub said Friday – as officials believe the fire that knocked the UK airport offline to be non-suspicious.
The inferno at a nearby high voltage electrical substation knocked power out at the London airport early Friday, sparking a travel nightmare as more than 1,000 flights were canceled and around 200,000 passengers were left stranded.
After about 18 hours of an eerie emptiness at the usually bustling facility, officials were optimistic the worst was over.
“Tomorrow morning we expect to be back in full operation, so 100% operation, as a normal day,” Heathrow Airport CEO Thomas Woldbye said at a press conference Friday evening local time.
A plane is prepared as another airplane approaches landing at Heathrow Airport after a fire at an electrical substation shuttered Europe’s busiest air travel hub in London, Friday. AP“What I’d like to do is apologize to the people who have had their travel affected during the day today, we are very sorry all the inconvenience,” he added.
Travelers scheduled to take off from Heathrow Saturday should plan to arrive on time for their flights. Some flights were trickling into the airport later Friday after the full shutdown was lifted.
Even with flights up and running, delays from the closure will last days because airlines will need to prepare planes, cargo carriers and crews while rebooking passengers, aviation consultant Anita Mendiratta said.
“It’s not only about resuming with tomorrow’s flights, it’s the backlog and the implications that have taken place,” she said.
While the cause of the fire wasn’t yet clear, the Metropolitan Police force said “after initial assessment, we are not treating this incident as suspicious.”
An aerial photograph shows smoke billowing from a substation supplying power to Heathrow Airport. AFP via Getty Images“Due to the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading our enquiries into this matter,” Commander Simon Messinger said in a statement.
Meanwhile an ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to fan international flames when he claimed Moscow would be blamed for the fire.
“I’m looking forward to Russia being blamed for the Heathrow fire. What are you waiting for, Starmer?” deputy chair of Russia’s security council Dmitry Medvede tweeted in reference to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
As of Friday evening, about 5% of the fire was still lit in isolated hotspots, officials said.
Nearby residents who were evacuated were also allowed to return home.
About 67,000 customers originally lost power from the fire.
“Living near Heathrow is noisy, there are planes every 90 seconds or so, plus the constant hum of traffic, but you get used to it, to the point of no longer noticing,” said James Henderson, a 20-year next door neighbor to the airport.
“Today is different, you can hear the birds singing.”
With Post wires
