London’s Heathrow Airport has restarted flights after a fire at an electrical substation closed the airport on Friday. The incident, which occurred when firefighters were called to extinguish a blaze in west London, also caused a power outage affecting many homes and businesses.
The airport said it was “safely able to restart flights” but advised passengers not to travel unless their airline had notified them. Heathrow hopes to operate normally on Saturday, but officials expect significant disruption over the coming days.
Seventy firefighters responded to the fire at 11:23 p.m. local time and contained it more than seven hours later. The cause of the blaze remains unknown, with investigators working to determine whether it was caused by foul play or an accident.
The incident affected up to 290,000 passengers, with many flights scheduled for Friday cancelled or delayed. British Airways has advised travelers not to go to the airport and is working to notify passengers about their travel options.
Firefighters evacuated 29 people from neighboring properties and established a cordon around the area after the fire was extinguished. The London Fire Brigade warned residents that some smoke would remain in the air for several hours, with scientific advisors monitoring the air quality.
The power outage also impacted many homes and businesses, with the National Grid assessing the site. The Met Police confirmed that counter-terror police were present at the scene but said there was currently no indication of foul play.
Heathrow Airport’s disruption is expected to have a ripple effect on the aviation industry, with limited spare aircraft and seats available to recover passengers.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/fire-electrical-substation-closes-heathrow-airport/story?id=120009870