Heathrow airport shutdown may have cascading effects, Air India among those hit
ByNeha LM Tripathi
Mar 21, 2025 07:48 PM IST
The airport serves as a major gateway for travel between India and the UK, and also as a transit point for those travelling to other parts of Europe or the US.
The Heathrow airport in London (LHR), one of the busiest in the world and an important international hub for Indian passengers, was forced shut due to a fire at a power substation near the airport, leading to massive flight disruptions for the day.
Smoke billows from a substation supplying power to Heathrow Airport in west London. (AFP Photo)
Smoke billows from a substation supplying power to Heathrow Airport in west London. (AFP Photo)
“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. To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025,” the airport, which serves as a major gateway for travel between India and the UK, and also as a transit point for those travelling to other parts of Europe or the US, said in a statement.
According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, 37 (two-way) flights were to be operated between India and LHR on Friday. Air India had six flights to LHR on Friday with 1,843 seats. As per its website, 1,186 flights are scheduled to operate between LHR and India in March.
“We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” the airport further said.
Air India, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operate direct flights between India and LHR.
British Airways has eight daily flights to LHR and Virgin Atlantic has five daily non- stop flights to LHR from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
“Our operations to and from LHR have been disrupted following the temporary suspension of operations at the airport until 23h59 London time of 21 March… Consequently, Heathrow-bound AI129 from Mumbai is returning to Mumbai; AI161 from Delhi is getting diverted to Frankfurt. All our remaining flights to and from London Heathrow, including AI111 this morning, have been cancelled for 21 March... Flights to London’s Gatwick aircraft remain unaffected,” Air India said in a statement.
Cirium, in an email, stated that 699 flights were scheduled to depart from LHR airport on Friday. “Roughly upwards of 1,45,000 passengers could be impacted. This is an estimate based on the daily total scheduled seats and flights, which will not be full, and noting the various departure times around the world that could arrive at LHR on Friday. On the LHR departures front, upwards of 145,000 total seats are scheduled to fly on March 21. There are 669 flights scheduled to depart March 21, 2025,” it stated.
A British Airways spokesperson said that as a result of the power outage, customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday were advised not to travel to the airport until further notice.
“This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond,” a statement from the spokesperson read.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said, “Unfortunately, this has had a significant impact on our flying programme, both to and from Heathrow and all Virgin Atlantic arriving and departing flights are cancelled until 21:30 on 21 March…”
Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMI) airport also issued an advisory for passengers travelling to the Heathrow airport and requested them to connect with their airlines for information on their scheduled flight.
Debasish Chakraverty, a Mumbai resident said, “I was aboard the Virgin Atlantic flight VS359 from Mumbai to London on my way to Tampa, Florida on Friday morning. About five-and-a-half hours into the journey, the pilot announced that we would have to turned back and are returning to Mumbai due to the situation at London Heathrow airport. As an Indian American who has lived through the aftermath of 9/11, my first thoughts were that this might be something of a similar magnitude. However, I had opted for Wi-Fi onboard because of which l could learn the actual reason.”
Chakraverty, however, alleged that the situation had led to chaos at the Mumbai airport as the airport was not prepared to handle the situation.
However, passengers of the Air India flight that took off from Delhi and had to be diverted to Frankfurt due to the closure, remained stranded in the foreign country. “The passengers were given accommodation, but the status of the flight will be updated once a communication from LHR is received,” an airline official said.
According to Cirium, marginally fewer flights and seats are scheduled to be flown on Saturday.
“There are 615 flights scheduled to depart from LHR tomorrow, (with 136,951 seats) and 604 flights scheduled to land in LHR with 134,726 seats,” it said.
“The impact of this incident can cascade over several days, as aircraft, crew, and passengers are out of place, with limited spare aircraft and seats available to recover passengers,” it concluded.
With inputs from Yogesh Naik
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