Heathrow airport closed as firefighters tackle large Hayes substation fire that sparked blackouts – live

Commenting on the blaze, a spokesperson for Heathrow airport said to expect significant disruption over the coming days. “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. “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.” The London Fire Brigade has said that its crews remain at the scene of the fire in Hayes. “Please continue to keep windows & doors closed due to smoke & avoid the area. This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night,” it said in a post on social media. The fire at the west London substation has forced Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports to shut down until midnight on Friday. The closure is likely to cause widespread disruption to travel plans. According to data from the OAG, Heathrow was the second-busiest international airport in 2024, after Dubai (DXB). OAG’s data showed that Heathrow (LHR) took second place after Dubai with 48.4 million seats, while airline capacity increased by 4% compared to 2023. Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the closure of Heathrow airport following a fire at an electricity substation in Hayes. The fire led to a power outage that has left the airport without electricity. Airport operators said the travel hub would be closed until midnight on March 21. Significant disruption to travel is expected and passengers should avoid the airport. Fire crews are responding to the accident but there is no clarity on when power may be reliably restored, a Heathrow spokesperson told Reuters in an email, and added that they expect significant disruption over the coming days. Eurocontrol, which manages air traffic control operations across Europe, said on its operations website that no arrivals were being allowed at Heathrow due to the power outage and there were diversion plans in place for flights. Heathrow was the world’s second-busiest international airport in 2024 behind Dubai, according to travel data firm OAG. The London Fire Brigade said its crews was tackling the fire in Hayes in west London and had evacuated around 150 people as a precaution. Here is the full report: