Passengers have spoken about being left stranded after a fire closed Heathrow Airport, forcing planes to turn around in mid-flight.
The world’s second busiest airport reopened on Friday evening and was declared fully operational on Saturday morning, after the blaze knocked out an electricity substation, leaving Heathrow without power.
About 1,350 flights were affected by Thursday night’s fire, according to the Flightradar24 tracking website, and around 120 Heathrow-bound planes were in the air and had to be diverted when the closure, which lasted about 18 hours, was announced.
However, the scene in Heathrow's terminals was one of relative calm on Saturday. Passengers arriving from Dubai on Emirates flight EK001 told The National they were relieved not to have been travelling on Friday. Others checking in for an Emirates flight were all scheduled to fly on Saturday.
But other travellers at Heathrow were still dealing with the fallout of Friday's chaos.
Renais Playford, 30, was on a work trip to New York when she was told that her flight to Heathrow had been cancelled. She arrived back in Britain on Saturday morning.
“Initially we were told that we would not be getting home until Sunday, but fortunately Virgin managed to get me on the next flight,” she told The National.
“But a colleague of mine, she was on an American Airlines flight on Thursday night and it turned around halfway and landed back at JFK. They weren’t told what was happening and she woke up to see the plane going back the other way on the screen.”
Ms Playford, from Southend in England, said the stressful part was not knowing when she would get back to the UK.
“I think it was more the anticipation of 'when are we going to be flying home' and booking extra hotel nights whilst we're there, an extra expense that had to go on your card,” she said.
Michael Behar was waiting at Heathrow with his girlfriend to continue their journey to Bucharest after finally arriving from the Chinese city of Xi’an after their Tianjin Airlines flight was cancelled.
“We got a message from Booking.com to say the flight had been cancelled but we were told the airline wouldn’t pay for a hotel room even though the flight had been cancelled,” said the 26-year-old, who works as a coder.
Mike Dodson, 63, a cyber security expert, was travelling on the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow in the hope his Delta Air Lines flight back to Salt Lake City would finally take off after it was cancelled on Friday.
“It’s obviously super disappointing not to be able to go home and I’m unsure actually whether or not I’m going to be able to make it back today,” said Mr Dodson, who was on a work trip to London.
Mr Dodson said he was concerned that the fire was able to “take out all power to the airport without there being any backup".
“It appears to be an unfortunate accident but I’m worried that bad actors, such as terrorists, would look at this and see the damage that they could do,” he said.
The Metropolitan Police are not treating the incident as suspicious and the London Fire Brigade's investigation is focusing on the electrical distribution equipment. Firefighters and workers were still at the electricity substation on Saturday morning.
Heathrow said it had added 50 slots to Saturday's schedule.
"We have hundreds of additional colleagues on hand in our terminals and we have added flights to today's schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport," a statement from the airport said. "Passengers travelling today should check with their airline for the latest information regarding their flight."
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
More on animal trafficking
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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THE SPECS
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Cofe
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 80-100
Amount raised: $13m
Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group
