Flights have begun landing at Heathrow as it aims to return to normal operation on Saturday after the airport was shut over a loss of power, with restrictions on overnight flights temporarily lifted.
Flights resumed at the west London airport on Friday evening following hours of closure after a blaze knocked out an electricity substation in Hayes late on Thursday evening.
The Metropolitan Police are not treating the incident as suspicious and the London Fire Brigade’s investigation is focusing on the electrical distribution equipment.
Heathrow Airport’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye told reporters on Friday afternoon: “We expect to be back in full operation (tomorrow), so 100% operation as a normal day.
“(Passengers) should come to the airport as they normally would. There’s no reason to come earlier.”
According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, British Airways (BA) flight BA56 from Johannesburg, South Africa was the first regular passenger flight to land at Heathrow since Thursday evening, touching down at 4.37am.
BA, which has a major presence at Heathrow, said it expects to operate around 85% of its scheduled flights at the airport on Saturday.
The airline would usually expect to run nearly 600 departures and arrivals on Saturday but it is understood cancellations will be made, where possible, to high-frequency routes.
Top 10 airlines by capacity that were set to arrive at Heathrow airport on Friday:
Lufthansa – 21 flights, 3,780 seats
American Airlines – 20 flights, 5,744 seats
Aer Lingus – 19 flights, 3,484 seats
United Airlines – 17 flights, 3,673 seats
SAS – 14 flights, 2,520 seat
Swiss – 12 flights, 2,000 seats
Eurowings – 13 flights, 1,906 seats
Delta Air Lines – 11 flights, 2,687 seats
67 airlines – 143 flights, 9,790 seats
Total – 669 flights, 145,836 seats
Full list of cancelled flights at Heathrow
07.40 BA430 Amsterdam(AMS)
07.50 BA372 Toulouse(TLS)
07.50 BA790 Gothenburg(GOT)
07.50 BA902 Frankfurt(FRA)
07.55 BA416 Luxembourg(LUX)
07.55 BA492 Gibraltar(GIB)
07.55 BA1306 Aberdeen(ABZ)
08.00 UA883 New York(EWR)
08.00 VS141 Los Angeles(LAX)
08.05 BA1386 Manchester(MAN)
08.05 EW9463 Dusseldorf(DUS)
08.15 BA476 Barcelona(BCN)
08.15 BA1468 Inverness(INV)
08.20 BA392 Brussels(BRU)
08.20 BA814 Copenhagen(CPH)
08.20 BA868 Budapest(BUD)
08.20 BA117 New York(JFK)
08.25 BA1442 Edinburgh(EDI)
08.30 LH925 Frankfurt(FRA)
08.35 BA524 Florence(FLR)
08.40 AA103 New York(JFK)
08.40 KL1002 Amsterdam(AMS)
08.45 EW2461 Stuttgart(STR)
08.45 LM652 Londonderry(LDY)
08.50 BA938 Dusseldorf(DUS)
08.55 BA1418 Belfast(BHD)
09.00 EY62 Abu Dhabi(AUH)
09.05 BA1498 Glasgow(GLA)
09.10 DL11 Minneapolis(MSP)
09.10 SQ305 Singapore(SIN)
09.10 UA905 New York(EWR)
09.20 BA1456 Edinburgh(EDI)
09.25 BA684 Innsbruck(INN)
09.30 LH901 Frankfurt(FRA)
09.35 VS187 Bridgetown(BGI)
09.35 BA175 New York(JFK)
09.40 BA976 Hannover(HAJ)
09.45 EW7461 Hamburg(HAM)
11:20 BA682 Salzburg(SZG)
11:20 BA1434 Edinburgh(EDI)
11:20 BA173 New York(JFK)
11:25 BA1482 Glasgow(GLA)
11:30 LH905 Frankfurt(FRA)
11:30 TK1980 Istanbul(IST)
11:35 BA484 Barcelona(BCN)
11:40 BA396 Brussels(BRU)
11:40 BA904 Frankfurt(FRA)
11:40 VS19 San Francisco(SFO)
11:45 BA285 San Francisco(SFO)
11:45 KL1006 Amsterdam(AMS)
11:50 BA602 Istanbul(SAW)
11:50 AA733 Charlotte(CLT)
11:55 VS316 Bengaluru(BLR)
12:05 UA919 Washington(IAD)
12:10 BA217 Washington(IAD)
12:15 BA1440 Edinburgh(EDI)
12:15 FI451 Reykjavik(KEF)
12:25 BA668 Marrakesh(RAK)
12:25 VS21 Washington(IAD)
12:30 BA281 Los Angeles(LAX)
12:35 BA490 Gibraltar(GIB)
12:35 BA1416 Belfast(BHD)
12:35 BA1458 Edinburgh(EDI)
12:40 EW9465 Dusseldorf(DUS)
12:45 BA243 Mexico City(MEX)
12:50 BA273 San Diego(SAN)
12:55 BA414 Tenerife(TFS)
12:55 BA438 Amsterdam(AMS)
12:55 BA177 New York(JFK)
13:00 AC861 Vancouver(YVR)
13:05 BA378 Toulouse(TLS)
13:05 VS221 Vieux Fort(UVF)
13:10 AY1344 Helsinki(HEL)
13:10 BA223 Nashville(BNA)
13:10 BA67 Philadelphia(PHL)
13:15 BA418 Luxembourg(LUX)
13:15 BA480 Barcelona(BCN)
13:15 BA1394 Manchester(MAN)
13:20 BA780 Stockholm(ARN)
13:20 JU211 Belgrade(BEG)
13:25 BA155 Bridgetown(BGI)
13:30 LH907 Frankfurt(FRA)
13:30 AA731 Charlotte(CLT)
13:30 BA225 New Orleans(MSY)
13:40 BA1484 Glasgow(GLA)
13:45 BA119 Bengaluru(BLR)
13:45 UA949 San Francisco(SFO)
13:50 BA940 Dusseldorf(DUS)
13:55 BA866 Budapest(BUD)
13:55 BA1308 Aberdeen(ABZ)
13:55 EY64 Abu Dhabi(AUH)
13:55 SK532 Stockholm(ARN)
13:55 EW7463 Hamburg(HAM)
14:00 AH2055 Algiers(ALG)
14:10 BA896 Reykjavik(KEF)
14:10 BA115 New York(JFK)
14:15 BA368 Marseille(MRS)
14:20 BA267 Portland(PDX)
14:20 BA818 Copenhagen(CPH)
14:25 BA908 Frankfurt(FRA)
14:30 BA277 Hyderabad(HYD)
14:35 EW2463 Stuttgart(STR)
14:40 LM676 Isle of Man(IOM)
14:45 AA173 Raleigh-Durham(RDU)
14:55 BA398 Brussels(BRU)
14:55 BA450 Amsterdam(AMS)
15:00 AC865 Montreal(YUL)
15:05 BA1334 Newcastle(NCL)
15:05 BA1448 Edinburgh(EDI)
15:05 BA269 Los Angeles(LAX)
15:10 BA1428 Belfast(BHD)
15:10 BA1486 Glasgow(GLA)
15:10 UA147 New York(EWR)
15:15 BA470 Barcelona(BCN)
15:15 BA1396 Manchester(MAN)
15:20 BA287 San Francisco(SFO)
15:20 UA935 Los Angeles(LAX)
15:25 BA229 Baltimore(BWI)
15:30 LH909 Frankfurt(FRA)
15:35 AA105 New York(JFK)
15:35 BA1312 Aberdeen(ABZ)
15:40 EW9467 Dusseldorf(DUS)
15:45 KU102 Kuwait City(KWI)
15:45 KL1010 Amsterdam(AMS)
15:50 VS137 New York(JFK)
16:00 BA121 Cincinnati(CVG)
16:00 UA941 New York(EWR)
16:00 VS155 Las Vegas(LAS)
16:05 BA792 Gothenburg(GOT)
16:05 BA275 Las Vegas(LAS)
16:50 Hong Kong City(HKG)
17:50 Hong Kong City(HKG)
18:15 Newcastle Upon Tyne(NCL)
19:15 Newcastle Upon Tyne(NCL)
20:15 Hong Kong City(HKG)
What have airlines said about the closures?
British Airways: “Due to a power outage in the London Heathrow area, London Heathrow Airport is currently closed. As a result, customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice. This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond.”
Ryanair: “Ryanair launches 8 rescue flights for passengers affected by Heathrow closure. Friday: 2 x Dublin to Stansted / 2 x Stansted to Dublin Saturday: 2 x Dublin to Stansted / 2 x Stansted to Dublin. Available from 9.30AM at Ryanair.com.”
United Airlines: “Seven United flights returned to their origin or to other airports, and Friday flights to London Heathrow are being cancelled. We are working with our customers to offer alternative travel options.”
Air India: “London Heathrow-bound AI129 from Mumbai is returning to Mumbai; AI161 from Delhi is diverting to Frankfurt. All our remaining flights to and from London Heathrow, including AI111 of this morning, have been cancelled for 21 March.”
Aer Lingus: “Cancelling all flights to and from London Heathrow Airport until further notice today following the closure of the airport by the authorities.”
Virgin Atlantic: “This has had a significant impact on our flying programme both into and out of Heathrow and all Virgin Atlantic arriving and departing flights are cancelled until midday on 21 March, with the rest of today’s schedule currently under review.”
Qantas: “Our Singapore-London and Perth-London services were diverted to Paris today, with buses arranged to take customers on to London.”
