Heathrow Airport has been shut down all day after an electrical fire, causing major travel disruptions worldwide. Thousands of passengers are facing delays, and experts say the effects could last for days.
The UK’s busiest airport closed on Friday after its main electrical substation exploded and caught fire in Hayes, a suburb in west London. The incident forced authorities to halt all flights, leading to widespread cancellations and diversions.
Around 220,000 people were set to travel through Heathrow today, but the complete shutdown has thrown schedules into chaos. At least 1,357 flights have been cancelled, delayed, or rerouted. The disruption is expected to continue through the weekend and beyond as planes and passengers are now in the wrong locations worldwide.
Many flights bound for Heathrow were diverted to other UK airports, but options are now limited, with airports like Gatwick reaching capacity. Some flights were rerouted to European cities like Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Lyon, leaving thousands of travelers stranded abroad. Others were forced to turn back mid-flight, landing in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Delhi. Air India has already cancelled all its flights to London.
Major airlines, including British Airways, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, Air Canada, and Delta, have seen the most disruptions. The situation is being compared to the 2010 volcanic ash cloud crisis, which grounded flights across Europe and cost airlines millions daily.
The fact that Heathrow had to shut down due to a single electrical substation failure has raised serious concerns. While the airport does have backup power systems, officials admitted that switching to emergency power takes time and is not instant. Heathrow’s management is now under pressure to explain the situation to government officials.
Experts are questioning why the airport relies solely on the National Grid rather than having an independent power source. Aviation analyst Julian Bray pointed out that Heathrow has significant funds for expansion, yet it lacks a robust emergency power system.
The outage has also affected over 16,000 homes in west London, causing blackouts. All train services to Heathrow have been cancelled, adding to the travel chaos.
Dramatic images of the substation fire have surfaced, showing smoke rising across London. With nearly 1,400 flights affected, the impact of this disruption is being felt worldwide.
