London, March 21, (V7N) — A massive fire at an electricity substation near Heathrow Airport triggered a major power outage, forcing the closure of Europe’s busiest airport and disrupting thousands of passengers worldwide.

The shutdown was announced early Friday, leaving at least 120 planes en route to Heathrow scrambling for alternatives, according to flight tracking service FlightRadar24. The outage affected over 1,300 flights, sending ripple effects across international travel.

“Passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” Heathrow officials warned, stating that normal operations would not resume before midnight (2359 GMT) on Friday.

The crisis began late Thursday night when a "significant" fire broke out at an electricity substation in Hayes, west London. Flames and smoke were "highly visible", prompting the deployment of 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines.

By early morning, the London Fire Brigade had brought the blaze under control, but the damage was already done—100,000 homes lost power overnight, with 4,000 still in the dark, according to UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.

While authorities are investigating, lawmakers have raised concerns about Heathrow's reliance on a single power substation. "There are obviously questions," said Ruth Cadbury, chair of the UK Parliament’s transport committee.

With Heathrow shut down, flights were forced to divert or turn back mid-air.

Gatwick Airport—London’s second busiest—began accepting some Heathrow-bound flights.

Six planes were redirected to Shannon Airport in Ireland.

Frankfurt Airport in Germany also took in some diverted flights.

Sydney-based airline Qantas rerouted two flights headed for Heathrow—one via Singapore, the other nonstop from Perth—to Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Seven United Airlines flights returned to their airport of origin or rerouted elsewhere.

Korean Air postponed its Heathrow-bound flight from Incheon by 22 hours.

At Singapore’s Changi Airport, passengers were caught off guard.
"They told us the flight was canceled because there’s been a fire in London," said one traveler who was already at the boarding gate.

This unprecedented shutdown comes just months after the UK government approved Heathrow’s long-debated third runway, set to open by 2035.

Despite its 12.3 square-kilometer footprint, Heathrow operates at near full capacity, handling more than 80 million passengers a year and 200 destinations across 80+ countries.

Its busiest routes last year included New York, Dublin, Madrid, and Los Angeles.

For now, frustrated passengers and airlines scrambling for alternatives are left waiting—hoping one of the world’s most critical aviation hubs can get back on track.

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