More than 1,000 flights will be affected
Some more details from Flightradar24, which says that more than 1,000 flights will be impacted by the sudden closure of Heathrow today.
“Today’s total closure of London-Heathrow will affect at least 1,351 flights to/from LHR,” the flight tracker said in a post on Bluesky, “That doesn’t include any flights that might be canceled or delayed due to aircraft being out of position.”
Key events
Travel experts say the disruption will extend far beyond Heathrow
Airlines’ carefully choreographed networks depend on airplanes and crews being in specific locations at specific times. Dozens of air carriers will have to hurriedly reconfigure their networks to move planes and crews around after the Heathrow closure.
“The other question is, ‘What will airlines do to deal with the backlog of passengers?’”, said travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt with Atmosphere Research Group. “It’s going to be a chaotic couple of days.”
For our international readers getting their bearings, here is a handy map that shows how close the fire in Hayes is to Heathrow airport.
On the ground the Hayes fire is also causing significant disruption to residents in London.
Footage posted to social media showed huge flames and large plumes of smoke coming from the substation facility.
The fire brigade said nearly 200 calls had been received in relation to the incident with crews from Hayes, Heathrow, Hillingdon, Southall and surrounding areas on the scene.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said in a post on X there was a large-scale power outage in the area impacting more than 16,300 homes.
Emergency services were called to the scene at 11.23pm on Thursday.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
United Airlines has said that seven flights have returned to their origin or to other airports on Friday, with flights to Heathrow being canceled, according to Reuters.
More than 1,000 flights will be affected
Some more details from Flightradar24, which says that more than 1,000 flights will be impacted by the sudden closure of Heathrow today.
“Today’s total closure of London-Heathrow will affect at least 1,351 flights to/from LHR,” the flight tracker said in a post on Bluesky, “That doesn’t include any flights that might be canceled or delayed due to aircraft being out of position.”
At least 120 flights diverted
It’s going to be a chaotic day for some travellers with flight tracking website Flightradar24 saying that at least 120 flights in the air bound for Heathrow will have to divert due to the airport closure.
Scores of flights are already being diverted to other airports, with Qantas Airways sending its flight from Perth to Paris and a United Airlines New York flight heading to Shannon, Ireland. Some flights from the US were turning around mid-air and returning to their point of departure.
A United Airlines flight from San Francisco was due to land in Washington, D.C. rather than London. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic diverted flights to nearby Gatwick.
Heathrow is one of the busiest two-runway airports in the world with about 1,300 combined take-offs and landings a day, according to its website.
“Heathrow is one of the major hubs of the world,” said Ian Petchenik, spokesman for FlightRadar24. “This is going to disrupt airlines’ operations around the world.”
Commenting on the blaze, a spokesperson for Heathrow airport said to expect significant disruption over the coming days.
“Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation. Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored.
“We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.
“We will provide an update when more information on the resumption of operations is available. We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to reassure that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation.”
The London Fire Brigade has said that its crews remain at the scene of the fire in Hayes.
“Please continue to keep windows & doors closed due to smoke & avoid the area. This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night,” it said in a post on social media.
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The fire at the west London substation has forced Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports to shut down until midnight on Friday. The closure is likely to cause widespread disruption to travel plans.
According to data from the OAG, Heathrow was the second-busiest international airport in 2024, after Dubai (DXB).
OAG’s data showed that Heathrow (LHR) took second place after Dubai with 48.4 million seats, while airline capacity increased by 4% compared to 2023.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the closure of Heathrow airport following a fire at an electricity substation in Hayes. The fire led to a power outage that has left the airport without electricity.
Airport operators said the travel hub would be closed until midnight on March 21. Significant disruption to travel is expected and passengers should avoid the airport.
Fire crews are responding to the accident but there is no clarity on when power may be reliably restored, a Heathrow spokesperson told Reuters in an email, and added that they expect significant disruption over the coming days.
Eurocontrol, which manages air traffic control operations across Europe, said on its operations website that no arrivals were being allowed at Heathrow due to the power outage and there were diversion plans in place for flights.
Heathrow was the world’s second-busiest international airport in 2024 behind Dubai, according to travel data firm OAG.
The London Fire Brigade said its crews was tackling the fire in Hayes in west London and had evacuated around 150 people as a precaution.
Here is the full report:
