The UK’s busiest airport, London Heathrow (LHR/EGLL) will be closed until at least midnight due to a fire at a nearby substation which supplies power to the airport.
Flights in the air and due to land at Heathrow are being diverted to alternate airports around the UK such as Gatwick and even as far away as Paris. Flights due to take off for Heathrow are being cancelled.
In a statement, Heathrow Airport said: “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.
“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.”
British Airways says it is diverting inbound flights to other UK airports for the remainder of today and there will be no departures from London Heathrow as a result of the closure.
Over 1,300 flights are expected to be affected by the fire which is still ongoing.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Video of the fire at the West London sub station has been widely shared on social media.
Responding to the Heathrow Closure, Joji Waites, Head of Flight Safety for the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), said: “BALPA understands this will cause major disruption for thousands of passengers but for those concerned about aircraft still in the air, or otherwise affected by the disruption, pilots are rigorously trained to deal with such situations and every flight is planned with the possibility of a diversion.
“The professionalism and adaptability of both pilots and air traffic controllers, and the resilience of the airspace system in which they operate, ensures that flying remains safe.
“Every flight takes off with at least one formally nominated alternate aerodrome, and sufficient fuel to get there. It gets more complex when mass disruption events like this occur, rather than just a single diversion, because operators have to find a place to land all the displaced aircraft. Thousands of passengers have to be accommodated and aircraft and crew are often in the wrong place, so it is going to take a few days to get the operation back on track. The public can be reassured that professional pilots are fully prepared for a scenario such as this.”
Heathrow has advised passengers not to travel to the airport and if your flight is scheduled for Saturday or Sunday then you should contact your airline.
