Flights returned to normal at London’s Heathrow Airport on Saturday following a power outage and shutdown that sparked global travel chaos.
The first flights of the day took off as scheduled from 6 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), after authorities said operations at one of the world’s busiest airports would return to normal.
“Flights have resumed at Heathrow following yesterday’s power outage,” read a statement on Heathrow’s X account, adding that it apologized for the disruption.
The first three flights that left the tarmac were a TAP Air Portugal flight to Lisbon, an Austrian Airlines flight to Vienna, and a Swiss Airlines service to Zurich.
Some flights also took off Friday night as the west London airport, brought to a complete shutdown when fire engulfed a nearby electrical substation, partially reopened.
“We expect to be back in full operation, so 100% operation as a normal day,” Heathrow Airport CEO Thomas Woldbye had said late Friday.
But airlines have warned of delays for days to come, with aircraft and cabin crew having been diverted to different airports, posing deployment problems.
The UK flag carrier British Airways said it expects to operate at around 85% capacity on Saturday, despite normal service resuming at Heathrow.
“To recover an operation of our size after such a significant incident is extremely complex,” it said in a statement, warning customers about possible delays.
“This incident will have a substantial impact on our airline and customers for many days to come, with disruption to journeys expected over the coming days,” said chairman and CEO Sean Doyle.
British utility company National Grid said Saturday morning that power had been restored to “all customers connected to” the affected substation.
Heathrow was the world’s fourth-busiest airport in 2023, according to the most recent data. Last year, a record-breaking 83.9 million passengers passed through. Spread across four terminals, it usually runs at 99% capacity, with every major airline crossing the hub.
The substation blaze happened in the town of Hayes, just a few miles from the airport, which disrupted the local power supply, throwing more than 1,000 flights into disarray and forcing pilots to divert their journeys in midair.
The debacle also raised questions as to why such an important international transit hub appears to lack better contingency plans, including back-up electricity.
A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said “repatriation flights” for passengers diverted to other airports across Europe would be among the first to leave Friday.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the substation blaze. So far, there are no signs of foul play, according to police.
