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London’s Heathrow airport has been forced to close until midnight after a nearby fire, disrupting scheduled flights and bringing turmoil to global travel.
The UK capital’s main airport, one of the world’s busiest international flight hubs, said it would shut down operations throughout Friday after a blaze at an electricity substation supplying the airport caused a “significant power outage”.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March. Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information,” Heathrow airport wrote in a post on X.
Nearly 100 flights have been cancelled and about 120 due to arrive at Heathrow were being diverted to nearby airports including London’s Gatwick and Stansted, Birmingham, Paris’s Charles de Gaulle, Helsinki and Shannon in Ireland, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. The closure will affect at least 1,351 flights, it added.
Arrivals were “regulated at Zero due to power outage in the airport”, according to an announcement on the operations portal of Eurocontrol, which manages air traffic operations and control across Europe.
Heathrow is the world’s second-busiest international airport behind Dubai, according to travel data group OAG.
The London Fire Brigade said in a statement early on Friday that 10 fire engines and about 70 firefighters had been dispatched to tackle a large fire at an electrical substation in Hayes, near Heathrow, where a transformer caught alight.
The statement did not mention the airport, but it said the fire had “caused a power outage affecting a large number of homes and local businesses”, and crews from Hayes, Heathrow, Hillingdon, Southall and other nearby fire stations were mobilised.
It added that the cause of the fire was not known.
“This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” said assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne.
“This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night. As we head into the morning, disruption is expected to increase, and we urge people to avoid the area wherever possible.”
A 200-metre cordon has been established around the area and about 150 people have been evacuated, according to the fire service.
Local residents were also advised to keep windows and doors closed “due to the significant amount of smoke”.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said an unplanned power outage was affecting more than 16,000 homes in south-west London. The utility said “based on initial investigations” it was aiming to restore power by 3pm on Friday.
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