Flights disrupted as London’s Heathrow airport shuts down over power outage

The United Kingdom’s Heathrow Airport has closed operations, leading to flight disruptions.

The development followed a fire incident at the airport’s electrical substation, causing a significant power outage.

Heathrow, the largest airport in London, is regarded as the world’s busiest international airport.

Available data indicates that over 67 million passengers travel through the airport annually on services offered by 90 airlines travelling to over 180 destinations in over 90 countries.

“Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” the airport said in a notice on its website.

“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23:59 on 21 March.

“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information.”

According to a report by BBC News, airport officials said the closure was necessary “to maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues.

“We have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23:59 on 21 March 2025,” Heathrow Airport spokesperson said.

“We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to reassure you that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation.

“Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored.”

The airport also apologised for the disruption and advised passengers to contact their airlines for further information.

Seven United Airlines also told BBC News that flights bound for Heathrow have returned to their origin or been diverted to other airports.

Also, Australia’s flagship Qantas airline said two of its flights have been diverted from London to Paris.

Heathrow handles about 1,300 landings and take-offs each day. 

Over 83 million passengers passed through its terminals last year, according to its latest data.