Heathrow resumes flights and hopes for full day of service – but passengers face further delays
Heathrow says it is expecting a full day of “100% operation” after the airport was shut over a loss of power – but passengers have been warned of further disruption.
A limited number of flights resumed overnight following hours of closure after a substation fire triggered a “significant power outage” on Friday.
Follow updates on Heathrow shutdown
The closure of Europe’s busiest airport led to more than 1,000 flights being cancelled and disrupted the travel plans of more than 200,000 passengers.
On Saturday morning, a Heathrow spokesperson said it was now “open and fully operational” but that passengers should still check with their airline.
The airport said hundreds of extra staff were in terminals and more flights had been added “to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers”.
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Moment Heathrow substation ignites
Police have said the cause of the fire is believed to be non-suspicious, while London Fire Brigade (LFB) said its investigation would focus on electrical distribution equipment.
Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye said the flights that took off on Friday night would help make sure the airport had “operations in place” for Saturday morning.
Several airlines, including British Airways (BA), Air Canada and United Airlines, said late on Friday that they would restart scheduled flights both to and from Heathrow.
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Drone footage shows substation on fire
A BA flight to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia also took off just before 9pm after a slight delay to its expected departure.
Mr Woldbye said passengers planning to fly from Heathrow on Saturday should arrive in time for their flight as normal and “there’s no reason to come earlier”.
“We expect to be back in full operation (Saturday), so 100% operation as a normal day,” he said.
Flight delayed or cancelled? What are your rights?
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Substation fire near Heathrow
The chief executive also apologised to passengers whose journeys had been disrupted, describing the delays “as big as it gets for our airport” and admitting “we cannot guard ourselves 100%”.
However, he stressed the airport wouldn’t have shut unless there were “severe safety concerns”.
Mr Woldbye said a back-up transformer had failed, meaning systems had to be closed in line with safety procedures so power could be restructured from two remaining substations.
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‘We’d have walked if we had to’
BA, the biggest airline at Heathrow, said it expects to operate around 85% of its scheduled flights at the airport on Saturday.
It would usually expect to run nearly 600 departures and arrivals on Saturday but it is understood cancellations will be made, where possible, to high-frequency routes.
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A BA spokesman said: “We are planning to operate as many flights as possible to and from Heathrow on Saturday, but to recover an operation of our size after such a significant incident is extremely complex.
“We expect around 85% of our Saturday Heathrow schedule to run, but it is likely that all travelling customers will experience delays as we continue to navigate the challenges posed by Friday’s power outage at the airport.”
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The disruption began late on Thursday night when fire crews were called to a blaze in Hayes, west London, at the electricity substation serving Heathrow and local properties.
LFB deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith told reporters that the fire involved a transformer – a key part of the substation – with 25,000 litres of cooling oil “fully alight”.
Pictures from the scene showed large flames and plumes of thick black smoke, with around 70 firefighters and 10 engines working to extinguish the blaze.
Passengers arrive at Heathrow Airport as flights resume. Pic: AP
Crews evacuated 29 people from neighbouring properties but there were no casualties.
In all, 67,000 households were left without power after the fire at the substation, but all supplies have been restored.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was in close contact with the energy secretary, the home secretary and with Heathrow to “make sure that any lessons we need to learn from the systems that the airport has in place are learned”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
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