London’s Heathrow Airport resumed full operations on Saturday, a day after a fire at an electrical substation caused a massive power outage, shutting down Europe’s busiest airport and triggering global travel chaos.
The outage forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded and scrambling for hotel rooms and alternative flights. Airlines worked diligently to reroute passengers and restore schedules, but the disruption is predicted to have a long-lasting impact.
Flights have resumed at Heathrow following yesterday’s power outage. If you’re due to travel today, we advise you to still contact your airline for your latest flight information before heading to the airport. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/bBUCx1mAMt
— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) March 22, 2025Heathrow’s Response
A Heathrow spokesperson confirmed that teams were working around the clock to support affected passengers. “We have hundreds of additional colleagues in our terminals and have added flights to today’s schedule to accommodate an extra 10,000 passengers,” the spokesperson said.
The incident raised questions about the airport’s infrastructure and backup systems. Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and former CEO of British Airways, called it a “clear planning failure.” Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye assured that the airport was back in “full operation” but declined to comment on liability, stating there are “procedures in place” for such incidents.
Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We’re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/fhUGiXCh6B
— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) March 21, 2025On Friday, Heathrow was set to handle 1,351 flights carrying up to 291,000 passengers. Instead, authorities diverted planes to other airports throughout the UK and Europe, and long-haul flights returned to their points of origin. Airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and American Airlines experienced significant disruptions, with some flights facing cancellations or delays for days.
London-Heathrow will be closed for ALL of Friday due to a “significant power outage” caused by a fire in an electrical substation.
There are currently 120 aircraft in the air that will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins. https://t.co/TEHf2kJO23 pic.twitter.com/Lot0lsJLz8
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 21, 2025Passengers faced skyrocketing hotel prices near Heathrow, with rooms costing up to £500 ($645)—five times the usual rate. Aviation experts compared the disruption to the 2010 Icelandic volcanic ash cloud, which grounded 100,000 flights.
The police have confirmed that they do not consider the fire at the substation suspicious; however, the London Fire Brigade continues to investigate. This incident follows several recent outages at Heathrow, including an automated gate failure and a malfunction in the air traffic system in 2023.
