Flights at Heathrow airport resume

Flights at London Heathrow Airport resumed last night after a fire knocked out its power supply and shut Europe’s busiest airport for the day, stranding thousands of passengers and causing travel turmoil worldwide.

All flights between Irish airports and Heathrow were cancelled yesterday, with further disruption possible over the coming days.

Flights resumed at London Heathrow yesterday evening, focused mainly on the relocation of aircraft before the airport is expected to return to “full operation” today, airport chief executive Thomas Woldbye said.

More than 30 flights were cancelled between Irish airports and Heathrow following a fire at a nearby electrical substation that knocked out the airport’s power supply.

Over 1,300 flights and up to 291,000 passengers were affected overall by the closure.

British police said counter-terrorism officers were investigating, but there was no initial indication of foul play in the substation fire.

The blaze, which was reported just after 11pm on Thursday night, forced planes to divert to airports across Europe.

Over 1,500 passengers were diverted to Shannon Airport on six flights yesterday from Toronto, Atlanta, Bridgetown Barbados, Boston, Orlando and Newark, while a total of 34 flights were cancelled between Dublin Airport and Heathrow.

(With inputs from agencies)