Flights at the United Kingdom’s Heathrow Airport have resumed after a fire knocked out its power supply and shut Europe’s busiest airport for the day, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.

The fire at an electrical substation disrupted power at the Heathrow Airport in London, forcing an 18-hour shutdown. The closure led to widespread cancellations, rerouting of flights and left approximately two lakh passengers stranded at Europe’s busiest hub.

London’s main airport said last night that its teams worked tirelessly to reopen after it suffered a power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility. Heathrow Airport Chief executive Thomas Woldbye has said, the Airport will be back in full operation from today.

Besides, disrupting thousands of flights, the widespread power outage, also affected thousands of homes and local businesses.
Meanwhile, the London Fire Brigade has informed that the fire near Heathrow Airport is now under control.

Counterterrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police are leading the investigation into the cause of fire. The force said, there was no indication of foul play but they retain an open mind at this time. Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.

The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 countries and territories and last year handled about 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.