London’s Heathrow Airport will be closed all of Friday because of a massive fire at the North Hyde electrical substation. This has caused chaos for thousands of travelers, with flights across Europe being diverted to alternative airports and returned to their original destinations.
Flights are being diverted, including Qantas Airways’ flight from Perth to Paris and a United Airlines New York Flight heading to Shanon, Ireland. Some flights from the U.S. were turned around mid-air to return to their point of departure.
A spokesperson for 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. We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.”
Ian Petchenik, spokesman for FlightRadar24, highlighted that Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe and one of the major hubs of the world. He said the shutdown will disrupt airlines’ operations around the world. “Today’s total closure of London-Heathrow will affect at least 1,351 flights to/from LHR. That doesn’t include any flights that might be canceled or delayed due to aircraft being out of position.”
Also Read: Elon Musk’s Grok AI Chatbot’s Human-Like Hindi Slang And Abuses Shocks User, No Filter
Fire Causes Outage at London Heathrow Airport, Thousands Without Electricity
The fire prompted a power outage in London Heathrow Airport and thousands of homes, and more than 100 people were evacuated. Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said the fire caused a power outage affecting a large number of homes and local businesses. The London Fire Brigade is working closely with its partners to minimize disruption.
Goulbourne described the incident as highly visible and significant. “Our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible.”
