Heathrow airport has said it will reopen in a limited capacity on Friday, with full operations on Saturday.
“Heathrow uses as much energy as a small city, therefore getting back to a full and safe operation takes time,” it said on Friday afternoon.
The airport closed down early on Friday, as it warned of “significant” disruption for days after its power was cut by a fire at a nearby electricity substation, causing turmoil for travellers.
More than 1,300 flights to and from the UK’s main airport, one of the world’s busiest international hubs, have been cancelled after the fire caused a “significant power outage”.
The cause of the blaze is unknown. UK government officials said counterterror police were leading investigations, although energy secretary Ed Miliband said on Friday morning there was “no suggestion” of foul play.
Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association, hit out at what he said was a “clear planning failure” that had left critical infrastructure dependent on a single power source.
The London Fire Brigade said the fire had been brought under control by 6:28am, but that about 10 per cent of 25,000 litres of cooling oil at the substation remained alight at midday.
An executive at Heathrow said that while the airport does have backup power options for its key systems, these do not all necessarily kick in immediately.
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