Chaos reigned at Heathrow Airport on Friday as a massive power outage brought operations to a near standstill, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and only eight flights departing throughout the day.
The disruption was caused by a major blaze at an electricity substation in Hayes, West London, which triggered widespread power failures at the UK’s busiest airport. The inferno, which erupted in the early hours of Friday morning, plunged terminals into darkness and halted most flights.
Despite the turmoil, a small number of British Airways flights were eventually able to take off late in the evening, offering a glimmer of hope for travellers stuck in terminals throughout the day.
Airport Boss Issues Apology
Heathrow’s Chief Executive, Thomas Woldbye, apologised for the crisis, admitting the airport’s backup power systems were never capable of supporting full operations.
“This is as big as it gets for our airport,” Woldbye said. “We expect to be back in full operation tomorrow — 100% operation as a normal day. Passengers should come to the airport as they normally would. There’s no reason to come earlier.”
Eight Departures and Limited Arrivals
The first flight to take off after the outage was British Airways Flight BA259 to Riyadh, which departed at 20:58 GMT. A handful of other long-haul arrivals and departures followed, primarily after 7pm, as partial power was restored.
British Airways, which operates over half of Heathrow’s flights, said it expects to run around 85% of its schedule on Saturday. The airline typically operates nearly 600 flights daily, though it is anticipated that some routes — especially high-frequency short-haul services — may face continued cancellations.
A British Airways spokesperson said:
“To recover an operation of our size after such a significant incident is extremely complex. We expect around 85% of our Saturday Heathrow schedule to run, but it is likely all travelling customers will experience some delays.”
Thousands Affected, Flights Diverted Across Europe
The incident caused over 2,000 flight cancellations and disrupted travel plans for an estimated 145,000 passengers, with travellers diverted to Manchester, Gatwick, Stansted, and even airports in Germany, France, and Ireland.
Images from Friday evening showed Heathrow’s terminals eerily empty but still operating in a limited capacity. Restrictions on overnight flights were temporarily lifted by the Department for Transport to help ease congestion.
No Suspicion of Foul Play
Authorities have confirmed that the fire is not believed to be suspicious. However, due to its impact on critical infrastructure, the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command is leading the investigation — a standard procedure to ensure thorough analysis.
Commander Simon Messinger, who is overseeing the police response, said:
“We continue to work with various partners in response to the serious fire. Local officers have been supporting residents and businesses throughout the day. At this stage, there is no indication of foul play, but enquiries remain ongoing.”
Civil Aviation Authority: ‘Lessons Will Be Learned’
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said it will review the incident and Heathrow’s response.
A spokesperson said:
“We require Heathrow to have a resilience plan to cover periods of disruption. There will, of course, be lessons learned from this event.”
Looking Ahead
As the airport prepares to resume full operations, officials are urging passengers to check with airlines before travelling and to expect continued delays and longer processing times throughout the weekend.
For now, thousands remain hopeful that Saturday will bring a return to normal — or as close to normal as possible — after a day many travellers will not soon forget.
Would you like this adapted into a timeline-style summary for a live blog or shortened into a headline version for mobile alerts?
