Some flights resume at London's Heathrow after huge fire
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Heathrow Airport closes due to fire at electrical substation
A fire at an electrical substation near the airport knocked out power, causing major travel disruptions globally.
London's Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest in the world, closed Friday after a fire at a nearby electrical substation caused a power outage.
The closure, which is expected to last until 11:59 p.m. British Time on Friday, will likely cause significant disruptions to global flight schedules.
Airlines are offering to rebook Heathrow travelers without penalty, but the impact of the closure is expected to last for several days.
Some flights at Heathrow Airport in London are resuming after the facility was closed following a fire at a nearby electrical substation that knocked out power to the airport.
The airport said in a statement on social media that flight operations will be limited on Friday, but the operators are working to restore the normal schedule for the weekend.
"We're now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so," the statement said.
As the busiest airport in Europe and one of the busiest airfields in the world, Heathrow's closure is likely to affect passengers and flight operations around the globe.
Flights disrupted
Industry experts warned that some passengers forced to land in Europe may have to stay in transit lounges if they lack the visa paperwork to leave the airport. Global flight schedules will also be affected more broadly, as many aircraft will be out of position.
"Heathrow is one of the major hubs of the world," said Ian Petchenik, spokesman for flight tracking website FlightRadar24. "This is going to disrupt airlines' operations around the world."
Travel experts said the disruption would extend far beyond Heathrow and could have ripple effects past Friday.
Airlines' carefully choreographed networks depend on airplanes and crews being in specific locations at specific times. Dozens of carriers will have to hurriedly reconfigure their networks to move planes and crews around.
"The other question is, 'What will airlines do to deal with the backlog of passengers?' " said travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt with Atmosphere Research Group. "It's going to be a chaotic couple of days."
More: Heathrow Airport in London closed after electrical substation fire cuts power
Airlines, including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American, Delta, United and JetBlue, are offering to rebook Heathrow travelers without penalty. All impacted travelers should check with their airline before leaving for the airport.
According to Cirium, hundreds of arriving and departing flights are likely to be affected on Friday. The aviation data firm said there were 665 departures and 669 arrivals scheduled at Heathrow, and flight tracking website FlightAware shows that 72% of departures and 52% of arrivals have been canceled as of 11:15 a.m. ET.
Cirium's data shows that New York-JFK has the most flights to Heathrow on Friday of any global airport, with 21 departures representing 5,387 seats scheduled to fly on that route alone.
It will likely take airlines a few days to fully recover their operations, especially British Airways, which uses Heathrow as its main hub.
The Metropolitan Police in London said they continue to investigate the incident, though it is no longer being treated as suspicious.
"The investigation into the cause of the fire remains in its early stages. After initial assessment, we are not treating this incident as suspicious, although enquiries do remain ongoing," Commander Simon Messinger of the Met Police said in a statement. He added that the department's counterterrorism command continues to lead the investigation because of the location of the substation, the impact of the incident and the unit's specialist resources and capabilities.
Contributing: Reuters
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