Heathrow Airport has finally become “fully operational”, days after a fire at the power station that paralysed Europe’s largest aviation hub, a spokesperson said on Saturday.
“We can confirm that Heathrow is open and fully operational today,” the spokesperson announced, according to the AFP news agency.
“Teams across the airport continue to do everything they can to support passengers impacted by yesterday’s outage at an off-airport power substation.”
The disruption impacted approximately 1,350 flights, as reported by Flightradar24. Additional service interruptions were anticipated on Saturday as operations normalised.
The airport deployed extra staff and scheduled additional flights to accommodate 10,000 more passengers. British Airways anticipated operating 85% of its scheduled services throughout the day.
The power outage
A severe electrical failure struck Heathrow Airport and its surrounding residential districts. FlightRadar 24 data indicated that 1,350 flights experienced disruption.
The crisis resulted in numerous flight cancellations and complex rerouting decisions, affecting approximately 200,000 passengers. When operations ceased, 120 aircraft were in flight. These planes either returned to their original airports or diverted to alternative locations, including London’s Gatwick Airport, Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport, and Ireland’s Shannon Airport.
The incident commenced near midnight on Thursday at an electrical facility situated 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) from Heathrow. Fire crews worked for seven hours to subdue the blaze. The London Fire Brigade responded with 10 fire engines and 70 personnel, necessitating the evacuation of 150 residents. Though 67,000 customers initially lost electricity, service resumed for most by morning.
This event represents one of the most substantial disruptions since the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption in Iceland, which resulted in widespread European aviation closures.
Heathrow, serving 83.9 million (8.39 crore) passengers annually, is recognised as one of the world’s leading international airports. Regular flight operations typically begin at 6 am, in accordance with night-time flying restrictions.
What is the economic effect of Heathrow shutdown?
A severe fire at an electricity substation near Heathrow led to widespread disruption, with numerous flights cancelled or diverted during a 15-hour airport closure.
Economist Stephen Rooney said: “In terms of what’s at stake, at the conservative end, we estimate a potential loss of tourism revenue amounting to £4.8m per day.
Emergency services tackled the blaze at North Hyde electrical substation, which ignited on Thursday evening and resulted in Heathrow Airport’s closure in London, March 21, 2025
“We can estimate this loss based on typical inbound arrivals volumes that come to the UK through Heathrow and the average daily spend of those travelling.”
Rooney noted that his calculations excluded potential earnings losses for airport and airline personnel, revenue reductions for airport shops and supplementary services including airport taxis.
The total financial impact would be significantly higher when considering insurance claims, passenger compensation and additional costs incurred by airlines.
‘Incident appears non-suspicious’
The Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit is leading investigations due to their rapid response capabilities and the substation’s proximity to vital infrastructure, though they confirmed the incident appears “non-suspicious.”Heathrow’s emergency power system functioned as intended but proved insufficient for full operations.
CEO Thomas Woldbye defended the airport’s emergency preparations, describing the situation as “unprecedented.”
The incident prompted criticism regarding Britain’s infrastructure resilience. Alan Mendoza from the Henry Jackson Society highlighted concerns about national infrastructure protection.
Tom Wells, speaking for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, acknowledged the need for a “thorough investigation” to prevent similar disruptions.
