The United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport has closed until midnight on Friday due to a power outage, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.
London’s main airport, which is Europe’s busiest gateway, said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
“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.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the shutdown would affect “at least” 1,351 flights.
“We’re trying to stop passengers from travelling to the airport, and then work with airline partners on flights that are delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” a Heathrow spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “They [passengers] can reach out to airline partners to work on rebooking.”
Al Jazeera’s Johan Hull, reporting from London, said the roads leading to the airport were blocked, causing “traffic chaos locally”.
“But local traffic disruption nothing as compared to the the air traffic disruptions that will be spreading around the world,” he said.
One of the busiest gateways
Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.
The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 different countries and territories, and last year handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
Geoffrey Thomas, aviation analyst, told Al Jazeera that about a quarter of a million passengers were expected to be diverted all over Europe and the United Kingdom.
“There’s going to be mayhem for 24 hours, or probably more like 48 or 72 hours. There are other airports around the United Kingdom that do handle the diverted flights, but their ability to handle this number would be very problematic,” he said.
“So, a lot of these flights would divert into Europe. But there again, the problem for airlines is, all of a sudden, you’ve got a flight in Frankfurt where it’s supposed to be in Heathrow, you’ve got crew that are in the wrong place. It’s a chaotic situation,” Thomas added.
Ellen, a traveller from the British country of Surrey, was planning to fly to Venice on Friday on British Airways, but had to change her trip due to the shutdown.
“We were supposed to fly to Venice this morning from Heathrow for a day trip for my 30th birthday present, it was a surprise booked by my cousin for the two of us. We have been offered a full refund by the airline so won’t be travelling now this weekend but will try to rearrange for another weekend soon,” she told Al Jazeera.
LLoyd, 34, said he was planning to travel from the Scottish city of Glasgow to the US via Heathrow to visit his partner, but he received an email while he was still en route to Glasgow Airport on Friday morning informing him that his 6:35am flight had been rebooked to a later time and to a different US airport.
By the time he got to the airport, his flight had been cancelled and he was advised not to travel to Heathrow. While disappointing, he said it was better than being stuck at the London airport.
The fire
Footage shared on social media showed an inferno several stories high, lighting up the night sky and emitting massive plumes of black smoke.
The London Fire Brigade said that it had deployed 10 engines and about 70 firefighters to a fire at an electrical substation near the airport in Hayes, west London.
“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,” Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said in a statement.
“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. Firefighters have led 29 people to safety from neighbouring properties, and as a precaution, a 200-metre cordon has been established, with around 150 people evacuated.”
Goulbourne said the fire would be a “prolonged incident”, with crews to remain 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,” he said. “Due to the significant amount of smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed.”
