Heathrow Aiport has announced it has closed for at least 24 hours due to a nearby electricity substation fire. It comes as a crushing blow to holidaymakers hoping to jet away for the weekend.
Passengers have been warned not to arrive for scheduled flights as the airport continues to experience « a significant power outage » following the fire at North Hyde Electricity Substation in nearby Hayes, west London.
Thousands of homes have been left without power and more than 100 people were evacuated after a transformer within the North Hyde electrical substation caught fire at around 11.15pm on Thursday. A 200-metre cordon has been put in place as a precaution.
Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner with London Fire Brigade, said: « This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible. The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large number of homes and local businesses, and we are working closely with our partners to minimise disruption. »
In a statement on the airport website a spokesperson said it was « experiencing a significant power outage across the airport » and warned passengers to stay away until further notice. It said: « Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored. To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025.
« We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens, » the statement added. It’s currently unclear how many incoming flights might have to be diverted as a result of the fire, which is located around 1.5miles away from the airport.
It means all operations into and out of the airport will be scrapped throughout the whole day, including journeys for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. The Heathrow Express rail link will also not run today, the airport confirmed.
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