London/Islamabad, March 21: Heathrow Airport in London announced it would be closed all day Friday following a large fire at a nearby electrical substation that caused a massive power outage, disrupting flight schedules globally.
The London Fire Brigade reported that around 70 firefighters were tackling the blaze in the western part of the city, which led to a widespread power loss at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport and the fifth-busiest in the world.
Dramatic orange flames and thick smoke were seen rising into the sky, with authorities evacuating around 150 people from nearby buildings.
Thousands of properties were left without power, though the cause of the fire remains unclear.
Heathrow confirmed the closure on social media, stating, “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 11:59 pm on 21 March.”
The airport urged passengers not to travel to Heathrow during the closure.
Read More: PIA Leases Additional Heathrow Slots to Saudi Arabia
Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 reported that at least 120 inbound flights were being diverted to other airports due to the power outage.
A total of 1,351 flights to and from Heathrow were expected to be affected on Friday, not including any cancellations or delays caused by aircraft being out of position.
Heathrow Airport Faces Shut Down: 100s of Flights Affected
British Airways alone had 341 flights scheduled to land at Heathrow on that day.
“Heathrow is one of the major hubs of the world,” said Ian Petchenik, a spokesperson for FlightRadar24. “This is going to disrupt airlines’ operations around the world.”
The disruption was felt immediately, with airlines such as Qantas Airways rerouting its flight from Perth to Paris, United Airlines diverting its flight from New York to Shannon, Ireland, and a flight from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. instead of London.
Also Read: PIA Flights to UK May Resume Soon
Some flights from the U.S. were even forced to turn around mid-air and return to their departure points.
Experts warned that the disruption would extend well beyond Heathrow, as airlines depend on carefully coordinated schedules for their planes and crews.
“The other question is, ‘What will airlines do to deal with the backlog of passengers?'” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst. “It’s going to be a chaotic couple of days.”
Heathrow officials informed Reuters that they had no information on when power would be restored and anticipated significant disruptions in the coming days.
On the ground, many homes and businesses in the surrounding areas were also without power. Firefighters have led 29 people to safety from nearby properties, and a 200-meter safety cordon was established around the site, with around 150 people evacuated.
