First Plane Lands at Heathrow After Fire Shuts Down Airport for 18 Hours

A British Airways jet landed at Heathrow Airport on Friday, marking the first arrival since a massive power outage caused by a fire forced the airport to shut down for 18 hours.

Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, assured travelers that the airport is on track to resume full operations by Saturday.

Back to normal by Saturday

Woldbye called the disruption “unprecedented” but emphasized that normalcy would return soon.

“We expect to be back in full operation, so 100% operation as a normal day,” he told reporters. He also advised passengers: “There’s no reason to come earlier. [Passengers] should come to the airport as they normally would.”

The fire-related outage, which halted all flights on Friday, was a first for the airport, according to Woldbye. “It’s never happened before and that’s why I’m saying it has been a major incident,” he added.

Market impact

The closure has also affected airline stocks. British Airways’ parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), saw its shares drop 1.9%, while Lufthansa and Ryanair fell 1.7% and 2.3%, respectively. The broader travel and leisure sector closed 1.6% lower.

Sree Kochugovindan, a senior research economist at Aberdeen, said the economic impact depends on how quickly Heathrow recovers. “The full extent of the impact will depend on how quickly the airport reopens and whether this is a one-off incident,” she explained to The Guardian.

While airlines and cargo businesses are experiencing short-term losses, Kochugovindan believes the disruption will likely be temporary. With Heathrow set to operate at full capacity by Saturday, the airport’s recovery will be closely watched by passengers and investors alike.