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Heathrow Airport, the busiest in Europe, was forced to close early on Friday due to a major fire at an electricity substation, which resulted in a power outage that affected numerous flights and disrupted thousands of passengers.
Airport officials indicated that they “anticipate considerable disruption” in the days ahead, while the online flight monitoring service FlightRadar24 noted that at least 1,351 flights to and from the airport would be impacted.
“Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” the airport operator said in a statement on its website, adding it would be closed until just before midnight Friday.
“Passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.” It added.
When the closure was announced, approximately 120 flights en route to Heathrow were already in the air, according to FlightRadar24.
The London Fire Brigade reported a “substantial” fire at a substation in Hayes, a town within the London borough of Hillingdon, which disrupted power supply. They deployed 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters to the location, and around 150 people were evacuated from nearby buildings.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, a British utility company, stated on its website that an “unplanned outage” had left over 16,000 homes in the vicinity without electricity.
Heathrow accommodates more than 80 million passengers annually, and the operator claims there are roughly 1,300 takeoffs or landings daily.
British Airways issued a statement acknowledging that the closure of its primary hub “will undoubtedly have a significant effect on our operations and our customers, and we’re striving to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond.”
Gatwick Airport, the second busiest in the UK, announced that it would accept certain flights diverted from Heathrow.
