On March 21st, Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport in Europe located in London, UK, was closed due to a major fire near a substation, causing chaos in air traffic. A spokesperson stated on March 22nd that the airport has resumed “full operations” and increased manpower and flights to evacuate passengers.
According to a report from Agence France-Presse, the spokesperson said, “We announce that today Heathrow Airport is open and operating fully, with all airport departments continuing to assist passengers affected by yesterday’s power outage at the off-site substation.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 data shows that approximately 1350 flights were affected by the closure of Heathrow Airport on March 21st. Despite the airport resuming operations on the 22nd, flight delays or cancellations are still expected.
The spokesperson for Heathrow Airport stated, “We have added hundreds of colleagues inside the terminals on standby and increased flights on the schedule for the 22nd to expedite the movement of the additional tens of thousands of passengers through Heathrow Airport. Passengers flying on the 22nd should confirm the latest information with their airlines regarding their flights.”
Heathrow Airport serves flights to and from approximately 80 countries, with about 230,000 passengers passing through the airport daily, totaling 83 million passengers annually, making it one of the busiest airports in the world.
(Source: Central News Agency)