Heathrow Airport in London remained shut throughout Friday, March 21, following a massive fire at a nearby electrical substation that caused a major power outage, disrupting flights at one of Europe’s busiest airports.
Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 reported that at least 1,350 flights were affected, with disruptions expected to last for days as travelers scramble to rebook. Around 120 planes were in the air when the shutdown was announced, forcing diversions to airports like Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, and Shannon in Ireland, while some flights had to turn back.
The London Fire Brigade responded to the intense blaze in Hayes, west London, at 11:23 PM, deploying 10 fire engines and numerous firefighters. Approximately 150 residents were evacuated from nearby buildings. Assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne stated that crews had worked “tirelessly in challenging conditions” and successfully brought the fire “under control” by 8 AM.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband assured that the government was “doing everything we can” to restore power, adding that while 100,000 homes initially faced outages, only 4,000 remained without electricity by morning.
Meanwhile, speculation arose over the cause of the fire. Ruth Cadbury, chairwoman of the parliamentary transport committee, commented, “There are obviously questions about it,” but noted it was too early to assume arson was involved.
