The Heathrow Airport has been forced to close for the entire Friday following a power outage caused by a fire at an electrical substation in Hayes, West London.
The closure, expected to last until 23:59, led to travel disruptions with over 1,300 flights affected.
The fire broke out at the substation located about a mile and a half north of Heathrow, leaving more than 16,300 homes and businesses without electricity.
Around 150 residents in the area were evacuated as emergency services worked to contain the blaze. The London Fire Brigade has deployed ten fire engines and at least 70 firefighters to tackle the ongoing incident.
Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne confirmed that the fire continues to burn within a transformer at the substation, and crews will remain on-site throughout the night. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
In a statement posted on social media, Heathrow officials warned passengers not to travel to the airport under any circumstances.
“Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation,” the airport said.
“Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored. To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025.
“We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” they said, assuring passengers that they “are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation.”
British Airways, which operates a major hub at Heathrow, has advised customers not to travel and is actively working to reroute flights to other UK airports.
Similarly, airlines such as Qantas and United Airlines have begun diverting or canceling flights, with Qantas redirecting some London-bound planes to Paris.
The shutdown has left thousands of travelers stranded, including fans returning from a football match in Greece who found their flights to Heathrow canceled. Many are scrambling to book alternative routes through other European cities.
Flight tracking service Flightradar24 estimates that at least 1,351 flights to and from Heathrow are impacted, with around 120 planes already in the air needing to be diverted.
Meanwhile, Gatwick Airport has announced that it is prepared to assist by absorbing diverted flights, while other UK airports are expected to do same. However, the scale of the disruption means passengers will likely face delays and cancellations for several days.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, the company responsible for the affected power supply, advised residents, especially those medically dependent on electricity, to reach out for assistance.
Over 1,300 Flights Disrupted As UK’s Heathrow Airport Shuts Down is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
