A large fire at a nearby electrical substation knocked out power, leading to Heathrow Airport’s closure all of Friday. The closure disrupted flight schedules worldwide.
The London Fire Brigade reported around 70 firefighters were battling the blaze in west London. The fire caused a mass power outage at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest and the world’s fifth busiest airport.
Orange flames shot into the sky. The fire brigade said, “the cause of the fire was not known.”
FlightRadar24 showed scores of flights diverting to other airports. For example, Qantas Airways sent its flight from Perth to Paris and United Airlines sent its New York flight to Shannon, Ireland.
Some flights from the U.S. turned around mid-air. They returned to their departure points.
A United Airlines flight from San Francisco was due to land in Washington, D.C., instead of London. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic diverted flights to nearby Gatwick.
Heathrow Airport posted on X: “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March.” They advised passengers, “not to travel to the airport.”
The fire brigade said firefighters led 29 people to safety from neighboring properties. They added that as a precaution, “a 200-metre cordon has been established, with around 150 people evacuated.”
A Heathrow spokesperson told Reuters that fire crews were responding to the accident. They said there was no clarity on when power would be reliably restored and added that they “expect significant disruption over the coming days.”
Eurocontrol stated on its operations website that no arrivals were allowed at Heathrow due to the power outage. They also confirmed that diversion plans were in place for flights. Heathrow’s website indicates about 1,300 combined take-offs and landings occur daily.
Ian Petchenik, spokesman for FlightRadar24, noted, “Heathrow is one of the major hubs of the world.” He added, “This is going to disrupt airlines’ operations around the world.”
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