The Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 departure hall on Aug. 22, 2023. (Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters)
London’s Heathrow Airport will be shut down until at least Saturday because of a fire at a nearby electrical substation that supplies the airport with power, the airport said in a statement on social media.
Heathrow is experiencing a “significant power outage,” the statement said, adding, “Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information.”
Flightradar24 data showed that several flights scheduled to land at the airport on Friday had been canceled or diverted elsewhere, including to London’s Gatwick Airport, as well as to airports in places such as Paris, Amsterdam and Helsinki. Some flights departing from the United States diverted to U.S. cities.
The London Fire Brigade said in a statement that a transformer was on fire within the substation at Nestles Avenue in Hayes, less than five miles from the airport, and that 70 firefighters were working to tame the blaze. The cause was not yet known, it said.
Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said the fire was a “highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible.”
About 150 people were evacuated from the surrounding area and a more than 650-foot cordon had been established, he said. “This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night,” he added.
Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports with about 1,300 flights per day.
This is a developing story and will be updated.