{"id":264096,"date":"2025-03-21T23:19:08","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T23:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/21\/flights-resume-at-heathrow-after-substation-fire-shut-down-airport\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T23:19:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T23:19:09","slug":"flights-resume-at-heathrow-after-substation-fire-shut-down-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/21\/flights-resume-at-heathrow-after-substation-fire-shut-down-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Flights Resume at Heathrow After Substation Fire Shut Down Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/21vid-heathrow-closure-package-cover-zqhj\/21vid-heathrow-closure-package-cover-zqhj-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Flights Resume at Heathrow After Substation Fire Shut Down Airport\" title=\"Flights Resume at Heathrow After Substation Fire Shut Down Airport\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Heathrow Airport in London was plunged into chaos after a fire at an electrical substation shut down operations at one of Europe\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Heathrow\u2019s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, described the disruption as \u201cunprecedented,\u201d 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 not enough to power the entire airport.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some flights resumed late Friday, but Mr. Woldbye said, \u201cWe expect to be back in full operation, so 100 percent operation as a normal day\u201d by Saturday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The British authorities said the counterterrorism police would lead the investigation into the cause of the blaze, which broke out at an electrical substation in North Hyde, northeast of Heathrow. But the Metropolitan Police in London said later Friday, \u201cAfter initial assessment, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/21\/world\/europe\/heathrow-power-fire-investigation.html\" title=\"\">we are not treating this incident as suspicious<\/a>, although inquiries do remain ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was too early on Friday to calculate the precise cost of the outage. But the outage raised questions about the resilience of Britain\u2019s largest airport and why it appeared to be so reliant on a single electrical substation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Residents of the Hayes neighborhood near the airport described hearing two loud bangs and seeing \u201ca massive ball of flame\u201d shoot into the sky on Thursday night. Minutes later, the airport said it was shutting down all air traffic, incoming flights were diverted, and passengers at Heathrow were sent home. Nearby residents were also evacuated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By Friday morning, roads around the power station were cordoned off, and a helicopter hovered above. An odd stillness had descended on Heathrow. The runways were empty, the check-in desks quiet, digital flight information screens were blank, and passageways were dimly lit by emergency lighting. It was a lifeless calm not seen even during the early panicked weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Britain\u2019s National Grid said on Friday afternoon that it had reconfigured its network to partly restore power at Heathrow on an interim basis. The substation held 25,000 liters of cooling oil, which fueled the large blaze and made it to difficult to extinguish, the London Fire Brigade said on Friday. The brigade said about 5 percent of the fire was still burning by Friday evening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The airport <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/21\/world\/europe\/london-heathrow-airport-closed.html\" title=\"\">closure<\/a> resulted in dozens of flights from the United States landing far from their original destination. They were diverted to airports in Glasgow, Madrid and even <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flightaware.com\/live\/flight\/AAL50\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Happy Valley-Goose Bay<\/a>, a tiny town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">John Connor, 22, sat at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Friday, waiting in vain to get home to England after backpacking abroad for two years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe sat on the plane for about five hours before they said the flight was called off,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to get a plane somewhere close \u2014 Paris, Dublin, anywhere else,\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019re being told straight up no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Frantic travelers swarmed social media to ask airlines about managing canceled flights and upcoming departures, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/pmeads262\/status\/1903057109153091906\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">claiming<\/a> in posts on X that airline apps were lagging in notifying passengers about cancellations and that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cloudedjetfuel\/status\/1903074388980744240\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">customer service could not be reached by phone<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some travelers stuck in Europe were urged to consider traveling by rail. After finding out that his flight from Heathrow was canceled, Phillip Kizun, 58, of Chester County, Pa., had to improvise as he tried to get from London to Dublin for a work trip. He took a train to Wales and then a ferry from the coastal town of Holyhead to the Irish capital. He met several European and American travelers doing the same.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt was an absolute real \u2018Planes, Trains and Automobiles,\u2019\u201d Mr. Kizun said, minutes after arriving in Dublin, referring to the 1987 Steve Martin-John Candy comedy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some planes already in the air had to turn around. Jeannie LaChance, who was traveling to London from Los Angeles with her sister and 2-year-old niece, said that about four hours into the flight, the pilot announced they would have to return.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEveryone was pretty calm, which I think was nice because we\u2019re all trapped in a plane,\u201d Ms. LaChance, 31, said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some airlines said they would issue waivers allowing free rebookings, including British Airways, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.delta.com\/us\/en\/advisories\/other-alerts\/london-heathrow-power-outage\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Delta Air Lines<\/a>, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2025\/03\/21\/world\/heathrow-airport-power-outage-fire#heathrow-flights-canceled-diverted-what-to-do\" title=\"\">American Airlines<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.united.com\/en\/us\/fly\/travel\/trip-planning\/travel-alerts.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">United Airlines<\/a>. A Delta spokesperson said the airline would reimburse the cost of traveling to London by train for passengers who had their flights diverted to Amsterdam.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Cirium, an aviation data company, estimated that as many as 290,000 passengers could be affected by Heathrow\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By late Friday, several flights had landed at or departed from Heathrow, as the airport began to rumble back to life, about 16 hours after the fire. The first to touch down there was a British Airways plane that had traveled from Gatwick Airport in London after being diverted from its original destination, Singapore, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A Heathrow spokeswoman said the airport was working to first restore \u201crepatriation flights and relocating aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Britain\u2019s Department of Transport said it was temporarily lifting restrictions on overnight flights to ease congestion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the chief executive of British Airways, Sean Doyle, warned that Heathrow\u2019s closure would have \u201ca huge impact\u201d on the airline\u2019s customers over the coming days. British Airways had been set to operate more than 670 flights carrying about 107,000 customers on Friday, and similar numbers were planned over the weekend, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe have flight and cabin crew colleagues and planes that are currently at locations where we weren\u2019t planning on them to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Heathrow crisis was likely to upset not only the movement of people, but also the flow of goods. The closure of the crucial aviation hub, even for a short time, would cause delays and logistical headaches for many businesses that ship products through Heathrow, supply chain experts said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Heathrow has two runways and four terminals that serve more than 230 destinations in 90 countries. Last year, about 83.9 million passengers and 1.7 million tons of cargo traversed the airport. It is the third-largest hub for air cargo in Western Europe, measured in metric tons shipped. Goods worth nearly 200 billion pounds ($258 billion) went through Heathrow in 2023, about a fifth of the value of the British goods trade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cGoods move around the globe in a really precise, timed way on a daily basis,\u201d said Ben Farrell, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, a global network of supply chain professionals based in London. \u201cAny disruptions to any part of that leads to a knock-on effect elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">British businesses will likely be most affected. Global trade can be handled by other large airports in Europe, said Eytan Buchman, chief marketing officer at Freightos, a digital shipping marketplace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Woldbye, Heathrow\u2019s chief executive, apologized to travelers for the shutdown and said the airport had done well to resume flights by Friday evening, given the scale of the outage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The airport closure came 15 years after one of Europe\u2019s most severe air travel disruptions, when a volcano eruption in Iceland sent ash miles into the sky and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2025\/03\/21\/world\/heathrow-airport-power-outage-fire\/fridays-flight-disruptions-are-among-the-biggest-since-a-2010-volcanic-eruption-in-iceland?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">obstructed travel for millions<\/a>, including at Heathrow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The ash grounded more than 100,000 <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/05\/02\/travel\/02prac.html\" title=\"\">flights<\/a> over nearly a week in April 2010 as it drifted across Northern Europe. The airline industry\u2019s losses from the volcanic disruption were estimated at $1.7 billion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Reporting was contributed by <!-- -->Christine Chun<!-- -->, <!-- -->Michael Levenson<!-- -->, <!-- -->Michael D. Shear<!-- -->, <!-- -->Peter Eavis<!-- -->, <!-- -->Christopher Maag<!-- -->, <!-- -->Ivan Penn<!-- -->, <!-- -->Stephen Castle<!-- -->, <!-- -->Niraj Chokshi<!-- -->, <!-- -->Ceylan Ye\u011finsu<!-- --> and <!-- -->Claire Moses<!-- -->.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/21\/world\/europe\/heathrow-airport-london-fire.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heathrow Airport in London was plunged into chaos after a fire at an electrical substation shut down operations at one of Europe\u2019s 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\u2019s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, described the disruption as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/21vid-heathrow-closure-package-cover-zqhj\/21vid-heathrow-closure-package-cover-zqhj-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[169293,804,8321,180628,43328,185580,187584,203301,1200,80,167650,9368,203299,84420,24894,202853,3096,870,203300,18573,6094,203302,15012,179841,202879,170109],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264096"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264098,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264096\/revisions\/264098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}