British Airways resumed ad-hoc flights at Heathrow Airport after temporarily closing down its flights for 18 hours when a huge electrical substation erupted into flames. The shutdown resulted in enormous flight cancellations, affecting about 200,000 people at Europe’s largest airport.
Restoring Operations
Business was back to normal by Saturday night. One of the earliest flights out was a British Airways flight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that left at about 9:00 p.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Indian time). Eight long-haul flights were offered on Friday night, and regular services were to resume on Saturday.
The Cause of the Outage
The blackout began at midnight on Thursday when a fire was set ablaze in a substation 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) from Heathway. The fire burned for nearly seven hours before it was extinguished by the firefighters. 10 engines and nearly 70 firefighters were sent by the London Fire Brigade to extinguish the accident.
Approximately 150 residents of surrounding houses were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Power to approximately 67,000 customers was cut off initially, although most supplies were restored throughout the day. Heathrow Airport had to be shut down for the major part of Friday despite swift response.
General Disruption of Flights
Power blackout led to widespread air traffic disruption. FlightRadar 24 shows at least 1,350 flights disrupted. Abrupt shut down left at least 120 aircraft in the skies when actually shut down by Heathow. Flights were rerouted back to the point of origin, while others were rerouted to other airports.
The passengers were subjected to prolonged delays and unscheduled flight cancellations, with the passengers becoming frustrated. Most of the passengers were compelled to re-book their flights or utilize other modes of transport.
The Largest Air Disruption in Over a Decade
Heathrow blackout has been termed as the biggest air disruption in more than a decade after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in Iceland, with European airspace closing in huge blocs.
Heathrow, who had 83.9 million visitors last year, is an important stopover point for global travel. Routine airport flights normally start at 6:00 a.m. due to the limitation on night flight, and the longer closure on Friday was thus unusual.
Investigation and Security Issues
As the fire had damaged significant structures, the Met Police counter-terror unit performed the investigation. The authorities then waived signs that the incident was “non-suspicious.”
With the emergency power system in operation, it was unable to sustain regular airport operations. Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye has termed the crisis as “unprecedented,” at the same time explaining how prepared the airport was for emergency situations after feeling the tests to such an extent of blackout.
Passengers React to the Disruption.:
Most of the visitors experienced the blackout in frustration and confusion for hours. Diverted flights at unknown times, long queues, and delayed flights were some of the reasons for the blackout.
“It was an absolute nightmare,” complained David Thompson, who was originally meant to travel from London to New York on Friday morning. “We were not given notice when the flights would be back to normal and it was difficult to arrange stand-ins.”
Others expressed relief that services were restored relatively quickly. “It was a tough day, but I’m glad flights are getting back on track,” said Maria Lopez, who was stranded in London due to a canceled connecting flight.
When the air traffic returns to its usual state, Heathrow authorities and the British government owe themselves and the public a detailed investigation of the accident. The airport administration will do everything in its power to make sure that such a calamity never repeats in the future.
A passionate writer, Niharika wants to create an impact as she believes that Journalism is not just a profession, but a passion to follow and live in. With a keen eye for storytelling and a commitment to impactful writing. she strives to inform, engage, and inspire through the pieces that she crafts. Niharika has covered the 38th National Games, getting to know the lives of athletes and players closely. When not writing she is listening to music, or browsing through social media for more meaningful topics to cover.
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