HEATHROW AIRPORT CLOSED DUE TO POWER LOSS

Europe’s busiest airport was brought to a standstill on Thursday evening after it was closed and all flights cancelled. The airport, located in London, was closed due to a fire that burnt down an electricity substation.

The substation is located in Hayes, the area surrounding the airport.

It’s believed a back-up transformer failed, which caused the closure of the airport. In line with safety regulations, systems had to be shut down so that power supplies could be restructured from two remaining substations.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the incident isn’t being treated as suspicious and have handed it over to the London Fire Brigade’s investigation unit.

Although the disruption has caused a massive backlog and delay in flights, the airport’s chief executive officer, Thomas Woldbye, has said the airport will be back in full operation on Saturday.

“We expect to be back in full operation (tomorrow), so 100% operation as a normal day.”

He advised that passengers should treat it as a normal travelling day.

“(Passengers) should come to the airport as they normally would. There’s no reason to come earlier.”

British Airways warned its passengers that it only expects to operate at around 85% of its scheduled flights at the airport by Saturday.

Image credit: Sky News