March 22, 2025: London’s Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest travel hubs, has resumed operations after an 18-hour shutdown caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation. The incident, which led to a massive power outage, left tens of thousands of passengers stranded and disrupted global travel schedules.

The fire broke out late Thursday night, around 11:30 pm local time (5 am IST), leading to a complete closure of the airport by 2 am (7:30 am IST) on Friday. Firefighters were quickly alerted to the scene, and authorities worked tirelessly to contain the damage.

Heathrow Airport confirmed that its teams had been working around the clock to restore operations. The first flight successfully landed on Friday evening, and the airport expects to return to full capacity by Saturday.

"Tomorrow morning, we expect to be back in full operation, to 100% operation as a normal day," Heathrow’s Chief Executive Thomas Woldbye stated. "We sincerely apologise to the many people whose travel plans were affected."

Authorities have ruled out foul play, and investigations by the London Fire Brigade are focusing on the electrical distribution system as the likely cause of the blaze.

Passengers who were affected by the shutdown have been advised to check with their respective airlines for updates on rescheduled flights.