London's Heathrow to resume some flights, but mass disruptions still likely

A small number of flights are set to resume later today at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) after the U.K. hub shut down for much of Friday following a fire at a nearby electrical substation, which triggered widespread power outages.

Shortly before 1 p.m. EDT Friday, a spokesperson for the airport told TPG the airport was set to restart some flights, and hoped to run a full operation on Saturday.

And British Airways, the airport's largest carrier, announced a limited number of flights would depart starting at 7 p.m. local time (3 p.m. EDT) Friday, including more than a half-dozen long-haul flights to Africa, South America and the Middle East.

Related: Heathrow closure: What are US travelers' rights if your flight is canceled?

Still, despite the progress, disruptions continued to mount — and likely will persist over the coming days.

Early Friday, Heathrow announced the airport would shut down for the entire day while crews worked to restore power and implement contingency plans.

The disruption triggered mass flight cancellations Thursday night into Friday, affecting scores of flights departing the U.S. bound for London. Some London-bound Friday night departures from the U.S. were already canceled, by mid-day Friday.

Meanwhile, airlines issued travel waivers to allow passengers extra flexibility to make itinerary changes following the mass disruption at one of the world's busiest airports.

Significant disruption

Friday's disruptions at Heathrow figured to trigger a "significant disruption" following the hourslong shutdown of the major European hub. In announcing the airport's temporary closure early Friday, airport officials urged passengers to avoid traveling to the airport "under any circumstances" — and expected the closure to last until at least 11:59 p.m. Friday night

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The hub was due to see over 1,334 scheduled flights Friday, per data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Up to 290,930 passengers could be affected, and consequent scheduling effects over the weekend will likely be significant.

Flights departing New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) were most affected as of Friday morning, with 21 flights either canceled or diverted, affecting 5,387 seat, Cirium data showed.

Still unclear: how many scheduled flights could ultimately be canceled over the coming days, even as airlines get operations back on track; it often takes time for operations to normalize following a large-scale pause in operations.

Heathrow was the fifth-busiest airport in the world as of March, servicing 4,296,701 seats, according to OAG.

Passengers stranded

The travel troubles affected passengers all over the world, due to Heathrow's global reach.

Ali Maynard-James, who had booked travel for one of her colleagues to fly from Heathrow to Hong Kong, told TPG: "Thai [Airways] just canceled at 4:21 a.m. and didn't offer anything else. No phone call and no alternative option."

Thai Airways followed up with an email 30 minutes before scheduled departure, she said, advising passengers to contact travel agents or their helplines for rebooking assistance. However, this was too late for Maynard-James, who already had to book a new last-minute ticket flying with Turkish Airlines at an inflated cost in a lower cabin.

"The cost difference is not comparable," Maynard-James said. "Only economy was left today and we had booked business-class flights. Even a premium economy flight was around $1,500 more today than the business single we had booked."

Airlines respond

British Airways, the most affected airline, had canceled hundreds of flights scheduled for Friday by late morning.

"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," a British Airways spokesperson said.

At 1 p.m. EDT, British Airways announced it had received clearance to operate eight Heathrow departures — all long-haul flights, including nonstop service to Cape Town (two flights), Johannesburg (two flights), Rio de Janeiro, Sydney (via Singapore), and Riyadh.

Fellow British carrier Virgin Atlantic had also seen its schedule strained by the airport closure.

"Unfortunately this has had a significant impact on our flying programme both into and out of Heathrow," a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said.

The airline requested that customers not contact its customer center at this time and instead check their flight status on the Virgin Atlantic website.

When will services to and from Heathrow resume as normal?

Heathrow initially had aimed reopen at midnight Saturday, but by early afternoon (EDT) Friday, the airport shared good news: a limited number of flights would begin operating again.

Still, the disruptions will likely persist.

As it stands, we are already starting to see cancellations for flights departing Friday evening and landing Saturday morning.

As of 9:45 a.m. EDT on Friday, there were 615 flights scheduled to depart LHR and 604 flights scheduled to arrive on Saturday's schedule. These numbers are likely to shrink as more flights are canceled or delayed throughout the weekend.

With so many diverted aircraft, crews and passengers currently out of position, there are limited spare aircraft and seats available to accommodate passengers.

At this stage, it's to assume that a large number of flights scheduled to and from LHR on Friday, including those set to depart the U.S. on Friday evening and arrive on Saturday, will be canceled so you can plan accordingly.

What caused the fire?

The London Fire Brigade received an alert at 11:23 p.m. GMT about a fire at an electrical substation operated by the National Grid in nearby Hayes; the fire involved a transformer that was alight. The substation is approximately 5 miles and just a 15-minute drive from Heathrow Airport.

Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were mobilized to respond to the incident, and they brought it under control around 6:28 a.m. GMT. There were no reports of any injuries.

The cause of the fire is currently undetermined, and the LFB is working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service to investigate.

"This was a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible," Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner of the LFB, said.

The LFB will remain at the scene throughout Friday to assist National Grid in assessing the site.

"A fire at our North Hyde substation in West London has damaged equipment, leading to a loss of power supply in the area," a National Grid spokesperson said. "We are working at speed to restore power supplies as quickly as possible."

As of 6 a.m., power had been restored to around 62,000 customers; it is currently unclear whether this includes power restoration at Heathrow Airport.

Which airlines are affected?

British Airways had the largest share of flights (51%) scheduled to take off from LHR on Friday, followed by Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa, according to Cirium data.

Heathrow also services flights from four major U.S. carriers: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and JetBlue.

As of Friday evening, local time, nearly three-quarters of all departures from Heathrow had been canceled, according to FlightAware — totaling some 500 flights. Another 366 flights bound for the airport (52% of all flights) had been canceled, as well.

The fire caused chaos on the busy overnight travel corridor from North America to Heathrow, with some planes already in the air when the fire broke out at approximately 11:23 p.m. GMT.

American Airlines saw nearly 20 flights diverted, returned to their departure city or canceled. Overnight accommodations were provided to affected travelers where required. A further 20 flights into or out of LHR have been canceled Friday.

British Airways Flight 190 from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) diverted to Dulles International Airport (IAD) after three hours and 36 minutes of flying time when the airport closed.

Japan Airlines Flight 41 from Haneda Airport (HND) to Heathrow had already completed a large portion of its long-haul sector when the fire broke out, and it opted to divert to Helsinki Airport (HEL) in Finland.

While Helsinki is more than 1,000 miles from London, it is home to Japan Airlines' Oneworld partner Finnair (and is another Japan Airlines destination). In terms of helping passengers get to their final destination, Japan Airlines may have considered Helsinki a better option than a U.K. airport it does not regularly fly to.

One of the most unfortunate flights affected by this event was Air Canada's Flight 854, departing from Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) to Heathrow. With an average flight time of under seven hours across the Atlantic, this flight got around halfway to its destination before diverting to Canada's Goose Bay Airport (YYR), landing six hours after departure.

This airport was made famous in the Broadway musical "Come From Away," which tells the story of 7,000 passengers who were diverted to Goose Bay on 9/11.

What should I do if I'm flying to or from Heathrow?

Flying to Heathrow Airport

If you have a flight to Heathrow Airport, check with your operating airline for updates on cancellations, diversions or rerouting plans.

Call centers will likely be busier than usual with long wait times, so the easiest way to check these details is to access your booking on the airline's website or app.

It's a good idea to ensure your contact details are completed and up to date, that you have downloaded and updated your airline's app, and that you have enabled notifications. This way, you can get alerts on any updates to your travel plans as quickly as possible.

For added insight, you can also Google your flight number at any time for schedule updates.

While Heathrow currently aims to reopen Saturday, the disruptions will likely continue for several days due to the number of displaced aircraft worldwide.

Flying from Heathrow Airport

If you have a flight booked to depart from Heathrow, the airport is currently closed, and passengers are instructed not to travel to the airport until further notice.

If your travel is urgent, you may wish to consider alternative options from other London airports or regional U.K. airports.

Note that thousands of displaced passengers may be in a similar position, and seats may be scarce and expensive across all fare classes.

U.K. airports outside Heathrow (including all other London airports) are currently operating as usual. However, some may receive diverted aircraft, so takeoffs and landings may be delayed as runway movements increase.

Am I entitled to a refund or compensation?

Individual airlines may have differing policies when it comes to passengers changing or canceling flights to and from Heathrow.

This is an unprecedented and rapidly developing incident, so it may take some time for each airline to determine its policy for disrupted passengers.

If you are stranded overnight — such as on a diverted transatlantic flight, a flight forced to return to its origin or a flight canceled before departure — you may be able to recoup reasonable costs for extra meals, hotel nights and ground transportation (if your airline hasn't already provided this).

Related: Flight canceled or delayed? Here's what to do next

Flights canceled or delayed due to this fire are unlikely to be eligible for EU261 compensation, as this was caused by an event outside the individual airline's control.

Regardless of individual airline policies, under the U.S. Department of Transportation flight refund policy, you are entitled to your money back — no questions asked — if your international flight to or from the U.S. is canceled and you choose not to travel.

This policy applies to any unflown portion of your ticket and is not voided by something outside the airline's control, as EU261 compensation may be.

You'll find these and other passenger rights guarantees on the DOT dashboard.

Related: Getting a refund for a canceled or delayed flight

Bottom line

Following a fire at a nearby power station, London's Heathrow Airport — the fifth-busiest airport in the world — was forced to close for hours on Friday. More than 1,300 flights have been affected, with more expected to follow as flight operations are thrown out of sync across the weekend.

While flights are beginning late Friday and into Saturday, expect disruptions to persist.