London Heathrow Closed after Electricity Breakdown: What Flights are Disordered? | Airline news

Power loss was forced by London Heathrow Airport, one of the most prominent in the world, close On Friday morning, encouraging chaos and interfering with tens of thousands of air passengers.

In the post on the website of the Social Media X, the airport blamed the fire at the North Hyde electric substation in Hyde, West London, for the interruption of electricity and said that it was not expected to reopen only on Saturday.

Avallic analyst Alex Macheraras said Al Jazeera said that the effect of historical disorders would be huge. “It might be the days” to go back to normal, he said.

Flights are diverted to Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Manchester.

Here’s what we know about what happened and disorders that caused the closure.

Due to the fire in the electric substation that supplies the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant interruption of current.

To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23.h59 21. March.

Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport … pic.twitter.com/7SWNJP8JD

– Heathrow Airport (@Heathrowairport) March 21, 2025

What happened at Heathrow Airport?

A large fire in the electric substation serving Heathrow and the surrounding areas is blamed for cutting electricity at the airport and causing shuttles.

The flames also caused large currents of electricity for thousands of residential and commercial buildings in parts of Western London. Officials initially advised residents in the area to close windows and doors due to huge smoke.

In a statement posted on X early on Friday, the Heathrow Airport advised passengers and staff to keep away from the premises and said they were not expected to reopen before midnight.

“To passengers, they are advised not to travel to the airport and need to contact their airline for additional information. We apologize for the inconvenience,” the statement said.

The passengers said Al Jazeera that some airlines offered them relief. One, identified as Ellen, said she was reserved on the British Airway flight before chaos on Friday.

“We needed to fly to Venice from Heathrow this morning on a one -day trip for my gift 30th birthday, it was a surprise my cousin booked for the two of us,” Ellen told Al Jazeera. “The airline has offered us a full refund, so it won’t travel this weekend, but we will soon try to rearrange another weekend,” she said.

What caused a fire?

Fire officials said the cause of the fire is still unclear – investigations are ongoing. They warned that it would be a “long -lasting incident” while firefighters fought with flames early on Friday. According to the United Kingdom officials, it was brought under control around 06:30 GMT.

In an interview with LBC on Friday, the Secretary of Energy Energy in the UK Ed Miliband said: “There is no suggestion that there is a slight game.”

Where is Heathrow and where did the fire happen?

Heathrow is located on the outskirts of West London, in Hillingdon County. The airport is the most prominent in Europe and one of the most prominent in the world, based on passenger traffic.

The fire occurred in an area near Heathrow, at the North Hyde Electric Foundation in Hayes, about a 20-minute drive from the airport.

How much flights is delayed or canceled?

At least 1,357 flights were disrupted, according to the air traffic monitor, Flighthradar24.

About 679 flights were supposed to land at the airport, while 678 flights were expected to take off, the monitor said.

Most flights that were supposed to land in Heathrow are diverted to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The others were re -directed at Frankfurt, Manchester and Dublin.

Falltradar24 said that 120 aircraft were waiting to be diverted to the air on Friday morning after the disorder.

Some passengers said they had been informed of canceling and diversion hours before flight, while many others stuck in Heathrow or connected the airports.

Lloyd, 34, who planned to travel to the United States via Heathrow to visit his partner, received E -Star while on Friday morning he was on his way to Glasgow Airport, informing him that his flight was transferred at 6:35 at a later time and another airport in the USA. When he reached the airport, his flight was canceled and he advised him not to travel from Glasgow to Heathrow.

“Maybe because we didn’t go to London yet, we weren’t as disturbed as those who were now stuck in Heathrow,” Lloyd told Al Jazeera.

How many flights and passengers pass through Heathrow?

According to Heathrow’s data, about 67 million passengers pass through the airport each year. This is near the population of the whole of the UK.

Passenger traffic broke records in 2024 when the airport recorded more than 83 million passengers – about 220,000 people a day.

The airport processes about 1300 flights daily.

Did something similar happen before?

Similar events happened, although at a much smaller range. Some of them were in the UK.

• Last July, a A significant interruption of IT -a Thousands of flight cancellation caused in several countries, and also influenced industries ranging from banks to media companies. It happened after Cyber ​​-Crowdstrik’s security company, which serves companies like Microsoft, shared the incorrect update of its systems. At least 2,500 flights were canceled and millions of systems were closed. Analysts said it was the biggest interruption of IT history.
• In August 2023. Flights were canceled by more than 700,000 passengers when aircraft were grounded at the UK airport due to a technical omission in the National Air Traffic Planning System (NATS).
• In the summer of 2022, after the countries were completely opened after the Coid-19 pandemia, tens of thousands of people striving around the world were affected by a major disadvantage of aircraft staff, which caused disorders globally. Hundreds of flights were canceled and passengers had problems finding luggage. The Heathrow Airport was forced to temporarily release a passenger cap and stopped the airline to sell flight tickets.
• In 2018, the Arctic Snow Storm that passed through the UK caused significant flight disorders, as well as disorders in rail and road traffic. The storm lasted 11 days and is disturbed by close to 5,000 flights.

What is the latest from the country?

Firefighters continue to fight flames, which, while under control, is ongoing.

Meanwhile, the main airlines like British Airways warned their passengers not to travel to Heathrow.

“We are working as quickly as possible on the update (passenger) on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond,” said the airline.

British Airways statement after disorder at London Heathrow Airport on March 21 pic.twitter.com/wguzibbj9n

– British Airways (@british_Airways) March 21, 2025