London’s Heathrow Airport shut down operations Friday after a massive fire at a nearby electrical substation knocked out power, forcing the cancellation or diversion of over 1,300 flights, impacting more than 100,000 travelers worldwide.
The fire, which erupted early Friday morning in Hayes, west London, led to a mass power outage across the area and halted all airport operations.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” airport officials said in a statement posted on X.
Speaking on the BBC, Ed Miliband said he had spoken with National Grid officials about the situation at Heathrow, adding that the government “will be doing everything we can, both to restore power and help the National Grid.”
He described the fire as an “unprecedented” event and noted that the number of homes still without power had dropped to around 4,000.
More than 70 firefighters responded to the blaze, which sent smoke plumes into the sky and required a 200-meter evacuation zone. Around 150 people were evacuated from nearby properties, according to the London Fire Brigade. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
“This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on the scene throughout the night,” the fire service said in a statement.
The outage forced the cancellation or redirection of 1,351 flights. Some aircraft turned back mid-flight, including a United Airlines flight from San Francisco and another from New York that was rerouted to Ireland.
British Airways urged passengers to avoid Heathrow “until further notice.”
The blaze broke out Thursday night at a transformer in an electrical substation in Hayes, a few miles from Heathrow, according to the London Fire Brigade. The cause remains under investigation, and crews were still working to contain the fire as of Friday morning.
“This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers,” British Airways said, adding that it is “working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond.”
Text execpt headline courtesy Newsweek.com
