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UK London Heathrow Airport Shut Down Live Updates: A fire at an electrical substation caused a major power outage at Heathrow Airport on Friday, forcing Europe’s busiest hub to shut down for nearly 18 hours. The disruption led to widespread flight cancellations, rerouting challenges, and left approximately 200,000 passengers stranded.
The blaze broke out just before midnight on Thursday at a substation 3.2 km from the airport and took firefighters around seven hours to control. Authorities found no signs of foul play, and the London Fire Brigade stated that the investigation would focus on the substation’s electrical distribution equipment.
The outage affected not only Heathrow but also thousands of nearby homes. At least 1,350 flights were impacted, according to FlightRadar24, with disruptions expected to continue for several days as airlines work to rearrange schedules and reposition aircraft and crews.
West London residents reported hearing a loud explosion, followed by a fireball and thick smoke, as the blaze tore through the substation. At the time of the closure, approximately 120 flights were already in the air. Some were forced to turn back, while others were diverted to Gatwick Airport, Charles de Gaulle near Paris, or Shannon Airport in Ireland, according to flight tracking data.
Heathrow Airport shut down Live Updates: Emergency Power Failed to Sustain Operations
Heathrow’s emergency backup power functioned as intended but was insufficient to keep the airport fully operational. CEO Thomas Woldbye defended the airport’s contingency planning, calling the incident “unprecedented.” However, critics argue that the UK’s national infrastructure lacks resilience against such disruptions. Alan Mendoza of the Henry Jackson Society warned that Britain is not adequately prepared for similar crises in the future.
Heathrow Airport shut down Live Updates: Flight Chaos: Cancellations & Diversions
Many flights were canceled, turned back mid-air, or rerouted to alternative destinations. Passenger Mark Doherty, whose flight from JFK to Heathrow had to return to New York, expressed frustration over what he saw as the UK’s lack of a backup plan. Other travelers, like Andrea Sri’s family heading to Dallas, were left in limbo after being informed their delayed flight would not depart. Airlines scrambled to find solutions—Qantas rerouted flights from Australia to Paris, arranging onward travel via bus and train to London.
Heathrow Airport shut down Live Updates: No Foul Play Suspected
Authorities are still determining the cause of the blaze, but Metropolitan Police have stated that counterterrorism detectives are leading the investigation due to their expertise in assessing critical infrastructure incidents. Initial assessments indicate no signs of foul play.
Heathrow Airport shut down Live Updates: A timeline of how the crisis unfolded
- 23:23 GMT (Yesterday): Emergency services responded to a fire on Nestles Avenue, Hayes.
- 04:30 GMT: Heathrow Airport announced closure until 23:59 GMT due to a “significant power outage” caused by the fire.
- 06:28 GMT: Fire was brought under control. Thousands experienced power cuts, and around 150 residents were evacuated.
- Midday: Met Police ruled out foul play, though Counter Terrorism Command continued its investigation.
- 14:30 GMT: Power was restored to Terminal 4. National Grid confirmed an “interim solution” for local customers and the airport.
- 16:00 GMT: Heathrow announced it could “safely restart flights,” aiming for full operation the next day.
- 17:00 GMT: British Airways confirmed clearance for eight long-haul flights to depart.
- 18:00 GMT: The first flight landed since the fire broke out.
Heathrow Airport shut down Live Updates: Emergency backup failed to keep airport running, PM’s office calls for answers
Heathrow stated that its backup power supply functioned as intended during the emergency but was insufficient to sustain full airport operations, leaving no option but to shut down for most of the day. Airport CEO Thomas Woldbye dismissed concerns about inadequate contingency plans, calling the incident “unprecedented.”
Meanwhile, Tom Wells, spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, emphasised the need for a thorough investigation to prevent such large-scale disruptions in the future.
Heathrow Airport shut down Live Updates: Substation fire strands nearly 2 lakh passengers
A fire at the North Hyde substation in West London disrupted power supply to Heathrow Airport for 18 hours on Friday, leading to widespread flight cancellations, rerouting issues, and stranding nearly 200,000 passengers.
Heathrow relies on electricity from three substations, each equipped with a backup transformer. However, in the case of the North Hyde substation, the backup transformer was also damaged in the fire, exacerbating the outage.
