Heathrow Airport resumed operations on Saturday morning following a complete shutdown caused by an electrical outage. However, airlines warned of ongoing disruptions as they worked to restart flights and manage the logistical fallout.
The airport officially reopened at 6 a.m., with the first flights taking off shortly after. Heathrow confirmed it was “open and fully operational,” but by 8 a.m., nearly 100 flights had been canceled as airlines faced the challenge of repositioning aircraft, crew, and passengers scattered across the globe.
Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s chief executive, praised the airport’s response to the outage, stating he was “proud” of the efforts and predicting no “major disruption.” However, the incident, which affected approximately 200,000 passengers, continues to cause cancellations and delays.
British Airways Warns of Prolonged Impact
British Airways, Heathrow’s largest operator, canceled nearly 80 flights on Saturday after grounding almost its entire schedule on Friday. Sean Doyle, the airline’s chief executive, described the situation as “unprecedented” and warned of a “substantial impact” on operations and customers in the coming days.
“This incident will have a substantial impact on our airline and customers for many days to come, with disruption to journeys expected over the coming days,” Doyle said.
The outage, which led to the grounding of more than 1,300 flights on Friday, has left airlines struggling to reposition aircraft and crew. An additional 100 flights were canceled on Saturday as a result.
Authorities have ruled out foul play, with the Metropolitan Police confirming the incident is not being treated as suspicious. The London Fire Brigade’s investigation is focused on electrical distribution equipment as the likely cause.
Backlog and Delays Expected to Last Days
Despite the reopening, Heathrow warned that regular operations would not resume immediately. A backlog of aircraft needing to return to their correct locations, coupled with the re-routing of passengers from canceled flights, is expected to cause delays for several days.
Anita Mendiratta, an aviation advisor to the United Nations tourism agency, emphasized the complexity of the situation. “It’s extremely complicated... the disruptions will last two to four days,” she told AFP. “It’s not only airport operations, but passengers, crew, cargo, aircraft—all of that is very much displaced if they’ve had to be relocated.”
Heathrow and airlines are working to minimize the impact, but passengers are advised to check flight statuses and prepare for potential delays in the coming days.