Heathrow Airport shut following fire incident
Global travel disruptions impact hundreds of thousands of travelers
The UK’s busiest airport, London’s Heathrow, was forced to close today, Friday, 21 March 2025, after its main electrical substation exploded and set alight less than two miles away in the west London suburb of Hayes.
This incident has resulted in widespread disruption, affecting approximately 220,000 passengers globally, as flights were canceled, diverted, or forced to return to their points of origin.
The blaze broke out late Thursday night at a transformer within the electrical substation in Hayes, west London.
The London Fire Brigade dispatched ten fire trucks and around 70 firefighters to combat the flames, evacuating approximately 150 people from the vicinity.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The power outage led to the cancellation of all flights scheduled for Friday, with Heathrow Airport announcing a closure until 23:59 on March 21 to ensure the safety of passengers and staff.
The shutdown has had a ripple effect on global air travel, as Heathrow typically handles about 1,300 flights and a quarter of a million passengers daily.
Flight tracking data indicates that 120 flights en route to Heathrow at the time of the incident were diverted to alternative airports, including London’s Gatwick, Paris’s Charles de Gaulle, and Shannon Airport in Ireland.
Some long-haul flights were compelled to return to their departure points.
The disruption is expected to persist for several days, marking one of the most significant operational halts at Heathrow in recent history.
Passengers are advised to avoid travelling to the airport and to contact their respective airlines for rebooking options.
Airlines are working to accommodate affected travellers, but the scale of the disruption presents considerable logistical challenges.
In addition to flight cancellations, the fire and subsequent power outage have impacted local infrastructure, including train services near the airport.
Approximately 16,000 homes in the surrounding area experienced power cuts, with utility companies collaborating to restore services promptly.
As investigations into the cause of the fire continue, Heathrow Airport and relevant authorities are working diligently to restore normal operations.
Passengers scheduled to travel through Heathrow in the coming days are urged to monitor official updates and communicate directly with their airlines for the latest information.
