Dozens of airlines cancel flights due to the closure of Europe's busiest airport
Kyiv • UNN
Nearly 700 flights of 60 airlines have been canceled due to a fire at a power substation near Heathrow Airport. The airport, which is the largest in Britain, has suspended operations until March 22.
Almost 700 flights operated by more than 60 airlines have been disrupted due to the closure of London's Heathrow Airport due to a large-scale power outage caused by a fire at a nearby substation. UNN has collected the main details about the incident at Europe's busiest airport.
According to the BBC, the airport, which is the busiest in the UK, warned of "significant disruptions" in the coming days and told passengers not to travel "under any circumstances" until it reopens.
"To ensure the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23:59 on March 21, 2025," the airport informs.
The fire broke out around midnight at a substation in the Hayes area, about 2 kilometers from the airport. The incident caused power outages in the area, affecting the airport. About 150 people were evacuated and a 200-meter security zone was established.
Cancelled flights
According to Reuters, British Airways had 341 flights scheduled to land at Heathrow on Friday.
"This will clearly have a significant impact on our operations and our customers, and we are working as quickly as possible to inform them of their travel options over the next 24 hours and beyond," the airline said.
BBC News notes that dozens of airlines have been forced to cancel their flights to and through London due to a fire at a substation at Heathrow Airport.
Flight cancellations have been reported by British Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, Irish Aer Lingus, American United Airlines, Indian Air India and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, among others.
Qantas Airways diverted its flight from Perth to Paris.
Some flights from the US turned around in mid-air and returned to their departure points.
A United Airlines New York flight was diverted to Shannon, Ireland, and a United Airlines flight from San Francisco was scheduled to land in Washington, DC, instead of London.
Heathrow is one of the world's largest transportation hubs. This will disrupt airlines around the world,
In total, Reuters estimates that almost 700 flights operated by more than 60 airlines have been disrupted.
Reaction of the authorities
UK Energy Minister Ed Miliband told BBC Breakfast that the fire at a substation near Heathrow Airport was an "unprecedented event".
According to him, the backup generator for the airport was also affected by the fire.
Miliband said there is an additional backup system that National Grid is trying to use to restore power.
"We do not know the cause of this fire. Obviously, this is an unprecedented event," - said the Minister of Energy.
Airport scale
Heathrow serves over 230 destinations in nearly 90 countries.
90 airlines have made Heathrow their base, including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa
There are two main runways. The northern one is 3902 meters long. The southern one is 3658 meters long.
According to the group's traffic report, 5.7 million passengers traveled through Heathrow in February 2025, making it the busiest February on record. From March 2024 to February 2025, the number of passengers amounted to 84.1 million.
There are approximately 475,000 takeoffs and landings annually.
More than 90,000 people work at the airport, which is the largest single employer in the UK.
The most popular destination is New York.
The BBC showed a video from Heathrow.
"We can show you a scene inside Heathrow as the airport experiences a massive power outage," the video caption reads.
The video shows darkened corridors and emergency lighting.
