London’s Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest in the world, was forced to shut down on Friday after a massive fire at a nearby electrical substation cut power to the facility. The disruption has led to the cancellation of at least 1,350 flights, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers globally.
Authorities confirmed that the airport will remain closed until at least 11:59 pm local time. The power outage also impacted thousands of homes and businesses in the surrounding areas. National Rail cancelled all train services to and from the airport.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the fire, which broke out late Thursday night at a substation in Hayes, west London, was “under control but not out.” Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne stated, “This was a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible.”
Videos circulating on social media show flames soaring into the night sky as firefighters battle the blaze.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described the fire as “unprecedented,” stating that it had knocked out both a backup generator and the primary power source. “It’s too early to know the cause, but lessons will have to be learned about protection and resilience for major institutions like Heathrow,” he told the BBC.
The impact of the shutdown has rippled across global aviation. Airlines such as Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways have canceled or rerouted multiple flights. Australian carrier Qantas diverted its Singapore-London and Perth-London flights to Paris, arranging buses to transport passengers to London.
Aviation expert John Strickland compared the disruption to past global travel crises, including the post-9/11 airspace shutdown and the 2010 Icelandic volcanic eruption that halted European air travel. “We’re talking about several days’ worth of disruption to get the planes recovered and start using them again to move planned and disrupted passengers,” he said.
Some Heathrow residents have noted an eerie silence in the absence of aircraft noise. “Basically, living near Heathrow is noisy. There are planes every 90 seconds or so, plus the constant hum of traffic, but you get used to it,” said James Henderson, a resident for over 20 years. “Today is different. You can hear the birds singing.”
Heathrow, which handles over 200,000 passengers daily, had its busiest January on record this year, with over 6.3 million travellers. The UK government recently approved the construction of a third runway to boost connectivity. However, with flights grounded, passengers have been left stranded, with many diverted to airports like Gatwick, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Shannon in Ireland.
Authorities have evacuated about 150 people from the affected area, while Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks reported over 16,300 homes losing power. Fire crews remain on-site, working to fully extinguish the blaze as investigations continue into the cause of the fire.
