LONDON: The airport blackout yesterday led to the cancellation of 1,350 flights by 60 airlines. In total, 290,000 passengers worldwide were affected, and it will take at least several more days for the schedule to return to normal
The airport's boss said he was proud of Heathrow's response to the incident. But inconvenienced passengers, angry airlines and concerned politicians sought answers about how one seemingly accidental fire could shut down Europe's busiest air hub.
“We have hundreds of additional colleagues on hand in our terminals and we have added flights to today's schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport,” Heathrow said in a statement, advising passengers to check with their airline before going to the airport.
British Airways, Heathrow's biggest airline, said it expects to operate about 85% of its 600 scheduled flights at the airport on Saturday. It said that "to recover an operation of our size after such a significant incident is extremely complex”.
More than 1,300 flights were canceled and some 200,000 people stranded Friday after an overnight fire at a substation 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away from the airport cut power to Heathrow, and to more than 60,000 properties.
London's Heathrow Airport has resumed operations after a power outage caused by a fire. "We are open and fully operational. Staff continue to do everything they can to help passengers affected by yesterday's power outage," the website of Europe's largest air hub says.
The airport blackout yesterday led to the cancellation of 1,350 flights by 60 airlines. Heathrow sends and receives planes every 40 seconds. In total, 290,000 passengers worldwide were affected.
Airlines have warned that it will take several more days to return to normal as they work to restore logistics for stranded planes and crews.
Police said they do not consider the fire suspicious, and the London Fire Brigade said its investigation would focus on the electrical distribution equipment at the substation.
Still, the huge impact of the fire left authorities facing criticism that Britain's creaking infrastructure is ill-prepared to deal with disasters or attacks.
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