It's a Small Sign of Progress at Heathrow

The situation appears to be improving at Heathrow, which had originally been expected to remain shut for the entirety of Friday following a fire at a nearby electricity substation that killed the airport's power. The BBC reports British Airways has received the green light to go ahead with eight long-haul flights this evening. The airline says it's "urgently contacting customers to let them know so they can make their way to the airport" beginning at 5pm local time, with departures set to begin two hours later. The impacted flights are to Johannesburg, Singapore, Riyadh, Cape Town, Sydney via Singapore, and Buenos Aires via Rio de Janeiro.

NBC News reports Terminals 2 and 4, as well as 5,000 homes, remain without power, per the London Fire Brigade. Heathrow said on X that it hopes to "run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly." It cautions passengers not to head to the airport until their airline has given them the go-ahead. The Guardian reports the cause of the fire is unknown at this point, and while there's no indication of foul play, counterterror police are taking the lead on the investigation. (More Heathrow Airport stories.)