Outage prompting dozens of flight diversions, FlightRadar24 says
Flight tracking site FlightRadar24 said Friday morning local time that “120 aircraft in the air that will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins.”
Heathrow said on social media that passengers should contact their airlines for further information.
Substation fire ‘highly visible and significant incident,’ Fire Brigade says
The fire at an electric substation in Hayes, near Heathrow, is “a highly visible and significant incident,” and disruptions are expected Friday morning, a London Fire Brigade official said.
“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 minimise disruption,” Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said in a statement.
Firefighters were expected on the scene all night, and the public was urged to avoid the area.
The Fire Brigade was called at 11:23 p.m. local time, the firefighting agency said.
The cause of the fire was not known, it said. Heavy smoke was reported, and people nearby were urged to close their windows.
Video shows Heathrow in partial darkness
A video posted on social media showed the inside of the airport with only emergency lighting.
London’s Heathrow Airport closes for the day after power failure
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London’s Heathrow Airport closed Friday local time and will remain closed all day after a fire at a nearby electricity substation caused power outages at the major transportation center.
“Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored,” the airport said in a statement early Friday local time.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025,” the airport said.
The airport said that it expects “significant disruption over the coming days” and that it would notify the public as more becomes known.
Read More: London’s Heathrow Airport closes for the day after widespread power outage
