Heathrow Airport closes due to nearby fire

Britain’s Heathrow Airport has completely shutdown and will be closed all day on Friday following a large fire at a nearby electrical substation wiped out power, disrupting flight schedules around the world.

“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow Airport said in a post on X, adding that “passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information.”

Flights being diverted worldwide

Scores of flights were already being diverted from Heathrow to other airports.

According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, at the time of the airport’s closure, “120 aircraft were in the air that will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins.”

A Qantas flight arriving from Perth, Australia, was diverted to Paris‘ Charles de Gaulle while a United Airlines flight from New York was due to land in Ireland’s Shannon instead, news agencies reported.

Some flights from the US were turning around mid-air and returning to their point of departure, according to the Reuters news agency. 

Other flights from as far afield as Lagos, Johannesburg and Singapore were being diverted to nearby Gatwick Airport.

Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, handles more than 80 million passengers a year.

Fire Brigade fights serious blaze

Thousands of homes saw their power get knocked out and some 150 people were evacuated after a transformer at the North Hyde electrical substation caught fire in Hayes, around 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) from Heathrow.

London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were fighting the blaze.

“The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large number of homes and local businesses, and we are working closely with our partners to minimize disruption,” Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said.

Footage posted to social media showed huge flames and large plumes of smoke coming from the facility.

Fire officials said they were called to the fire around 11.23 p.m. local time on Thursday and crews have been on scene throughout the night.