Flights have resumed at Heathrow Airport, with full operations expected to return on Saturday, following a major power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation. The disruption stranded over 200,000 passengers, grounded flights, and forced diversions across Europe and beyond.
What Caused the Shutdown?
The fire broke out late Thursday night at the North Hyde substation in Hayes, west London, knocking out power to Heathrow and affecting over 65,000 homes in the area. Ten fire engines and 70 firefighters battled the blaze, which involved a transformer containing 25,000 litres of cooling fluid. The fire was eventually brought under control by 6:30 AM on Friday, but the damage had already been done.
People work at an electrical substation, after a fire there wiped out the power at Heathrow International Airport, in Hayes, London, Britain, March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Airport officials confirmed that backup power systems functioned as expected, ensuring critical functions such as aircraft landings and passenger evacuations. However, the loss of a key transformer meant that power had to be redistributed, leading to airport-wide shutdowns.
Heathrow’s Response and Passenger Chaos
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye apologized for the massive disruption on television, stating: “This is as big as it gets for our airport. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.
Although eight British Airways long-haul flights were able to depart late Friday evening, many airlines including JetBlue, Air Canada, Delta, United, Qantas, and Virgin Atlantic were forced to divert or cancel flights.
Passengers scrambled to find alternative travel options, with hotel prices near Heathrow skyrocketing to £500 ($645) per night, nearly five times the usual rate.
A passenger with luggage walks in a passage leading to Terminal 4 of Heathrow International Airport, after a fire at an electrical substation wiped out power at the airport, in London, Britain, March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Industry Backlash and Investigations
The outage has angered airlines and industry experts, with many questioning why Europe’s busiest airport was brought to a standstill by a single power station failure.
Aviation analysts compared the scale of the disruption to the 2010 Icelandic volcanic ash cloud, which grounded over 100,000 flights across Europe.
British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander defended Heathrow’s response, saying: “They swiftly implemented their resilience plan and worked closely with emergency responders and airline operators.”
However, UK energy regulator Ofgem has announced an independent investigation into the cause of the failure and what lessons can be learned to prevent future disruptions.
What’s Next?
The UK government has temporarily lifted restrictions on overnight flights to help clear the backlog, while Heathrow is focusing on relocating aircraft and restoring normal operations.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office has called for a thorough review to ensure that such an incident never happens again.
While Heathrow expects to be fully operational by Saturday, travel experts warn that it could take days for airlines to recover schedules and for stranded passengers to reach their destinations.
Source: tovima.com
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