Some Heathrow flights will resume later today after a fire broke out at an electrical substation near the airport. In a statement, the airport said that it hopes to be fully operational tomorrow.
Counter terrorism police were reportedly called in to investigate the cause of the blaze at North Hyde substation. The London Fire Bridage said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters responded to the fire, which caused widespread power outages in the local area.
In a recent statement, Heathrow Airport said: “Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We’re pleased to say we’re now safely able to begin some flights later today. Our first flights will be repatriation flights and relocating aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so.
“We will now work with the airlines on repatriating the passengers who were diverted to other airports in Europe. We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly. Our priority remains the safety of our passengers and those working at the airport. As the busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow uses as much energy as a small city, therefore getting back to a full and safe operation takes time. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident.”
A spokesperson for the Met said: “We are working with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation. While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time. Given the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading enquiries. This is due to the specialist resources and capabilities within that command that can assist in progressing this investigation at pace to minimise disruption and identify the cause.”
Have you been affected by Heathrow’s closure? Get in touch by emailing rebecca.robinson@reachplc.com
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London-Heathrow will be closed for ALL of Friday due to a “significant power outage” caused by a fire in an electrical substation.

There are currently 120 aircraft in the air that will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins. https://t.co/TEHf2kJO23 pic.twitter.com/Lot0lsJLz8
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Janice Ramirez, 49, was on a layover flight from Singapore to the Cayman Islands for her work as a travel agent.
Her flight was diverted from Heathrow to Gatwick. She was meant to arrive at Heathrow at 9am but arrived by train at 4pm, and is now trying to book a hotel to wait for her Monday flight.
Ms Ramirez said: “A lot of people were requesting hotels and all the hotels around here are booked up. My sister is helping me book a hotel, I think it will be a bit further out.
“It’s not ok sitting here at this time, but you have to be tough. At least it is safe here.”
Alex Udenba, 41, missed a day of his holiday to see family and friends in Nigeria because his flight from Heathrow was cancelled.
Mr Udenba, a retail worker in London, has not gone to the country in three years and was hoping to spend a month there.
He has been in the airport since 1am this morning and will be there until his new flight at 7.30am tomorrow.
He said: “Heathrow Airport, a world-class airport, doesn’t have a place for people to sit down when things like this happen. It is very shameful. It’s not anyone’s fault this happened, but at least we should be looked after.”
Pictures show passengers stranded at Heathrow Airport.According to the BBC, all 19 of American Airlines’ flights from Heathrow Airport will go ahead tomorrow.
A UK Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson said: “The Civil Aviation Authority regulates Heathrow from a safety perspective as well as from the point of view of protecting the interests of consumers.
“We require Heathrow to have a resilience plan to cover periods of disruption, and we also require it to work with other parties at the airport to manage and recover from it.
“There will of course be lessons learned from this event. Until we know more about the detail, we cannot comment further.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said there would be lessons to learn from the incident. Speaking to reporters in Swindon, Ms Alexander acknowledged the “immense distress and disruption” caused by the closure of the airport but said the incident was “totally out of Heathrow’s control”.
She said: “They have stood up their resilience plan swiftly, and they’ve collaborated closely with our emergency responders and the airline operators, they do have backup energy supplies, they have generators, diesel generators.
“None of that failed on this occasion because that backup supply is designed to protect the critical key systems within the airport and not to provide power to the whole airport.”
The Transport Secretary said she was in close contact with the Energy Secretary, the Home Secretary and with Heathrow to “make sure that any lessons we need to learn from the systems that the airport has in place are learned”.The first flight to leave Heathrow since the closure has departed. 
The British Airways BAW259 flight is heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Flight BA259 departed at 8.58pm, a delay of 40 minutes from its expected departure time.
Heathrow’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye said the airport can run on power from the two unaffected substations but that they had to “restructure the supply”.
“So we’re not out of power but we have to restructure our power supply,” he told the media. “To do that we have to close down systems – that is safety procedure, we will not go around that.”
He added: “Two substations can run the airport but we need to re-engineer the structure of the power supply for all the terminals and that’s what we were doing during the day, and then we have to restart all the systems and that’s what we’ve done, and we now see operation coming back.”It is not currently known what caused the blaze at the substation.
The Metropolitan Police said they are not treating the incident as suspicious, although the force warned that inquiries are ongoing.
Meanwhile, the London Fire Brigade said its investigation will focus on the electrical distribution equipment.
A transformer at North Hyde substation caught fire and caused a power loss at Heathrow Airport. The backup transformer also failed.
London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Jonathan Smith said: “The fire involved a transformer comprising 25,000 litres of its cooling oil fully alight.
“This created a major hazard owing to the still live high voltage equipment and the nature of an oil fuelled fire.”Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye said:“I’d like to stress that this has been an incident of major severity. It’s not a small fire.
“We have lost power equal to that of a mid-sized city and our backup systems have been working as they should but they are not sized to run the entire airport.”
Around 200,000 passengers have been affected by the closure of what is Europe’s busiest airport.Commander Simon Messinger said:“Officers are working closely with a number of local partners, including the London Fire Brigade, National Grid and SSEN to build a picture of the circumstances surrounding the fire.
“Various specialist investigators continue to examine the scene and it is expected to take some time before full assessments can be completed.
“Officers will continue to work alongside colleagues on the investigation, but as we have stated above, at this stage, there remains no indication of any foul play.
“Anyone with information that could assist with the ongoing investigation can contact us by calling 0800 789 321.”
Commander Simon Messinger, the officer leading the Met’s investigation  said: “The investigation into the cause of the fire remains in its early stages. After initial assessment, we are not treating this incident as suspicious, although enquiries do remain ongoing.”
He added: “Due to the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter-Terrorism Command are leading our inquiries into this matter.
“This is due to the specialist resources and capabilities within that command that can assist in progressing this investigation at pace and to help minimise disruption and identify the cause.”
The London Fire Brigade said: “London Fire Brigade Fire Investigation Officers, supported by a scientific advisor, have been working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to investigate the cause of this fire.
“The MPS has confirmed that the fire is believed to be non-suspicious. LFB’s investigation will now focus on the electrical distribution equipment.”Heathrow Airport has explained how its “back-up systems” are not designed to allow the airport to run a full operation after a fire at an electrical substation was said to make it look “vulnerable”.
The Department for Transport said in a post on X that restrictions on overnight flights have been temporarily lifted.
An update on the measures we’re taking to support passengers following the fire that closed Heathrow Airport. pic.twitter.com/CdPCMt9DP9
A planespotter captured the first flight to land at Heathrow after the earlier fire.
The first flight @British_Airways a380 to London Heathrow, from @Gatwick_Airport after the Heathrow incident earlier on this morning. pic.twitter.com/yrEfZHRunC
Virgin Atlantic says it expects to run a ‘near full schedule’ tomorrow. It cancelled all of its flights due to leave Heathrow today.
The airline has also cancelled 22 flights that were set to take place tomorrow. Virgin Atlantic will email customers with rebooking details.
Heathrow Airport’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye apologised to passengers disrupted by the closure of the airport but defended its response, saying “this is as big as it gets for our airport” and that “we cannot guard ourselves 100%”.Thomas Woldbye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said flights will return to normal tomorrow.
He adds that passengers should come to Heathrow “normally” as they planned.
According to the London Fire Brigade, around 5% of the substation remains alight. 
The fire service said in a statement: “Approximately 5% remains alight in isolated hotspots. We will maintain a presence at the site until the incident is resolved.”
It adds: “The fire involved a transformer comprising 25,000 litres of its cooling oil fully alight. This created a major hazard owing to the still live high voltage equipment and the nature of an oil fuelled fire.
British Airways will resume flights from Heathrow at 7pm tonight. 
The airline says: “We are now urgently contacting customers to let them know so they can make their way to the airport from 5pm.”
It adds: “We thank all of our customers for their patience and continue to ask them to keep checking ba.com for the latest flight information.”
The flights are:
BA055 to JohannesburgBA057 to JohannesburgBA011 to SingaporeBA259 to RiyadhBA045 to Cape TownBA059 to Cape TownBA015 to Sydney via SingaporeBA249 to Buenos Aires via Rio de Janeiro
Heathrow Airport said in a statement: “Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We’re pleased to say we’re now safely able to begin some flights later today.
“Our first flights will be repatriation flights and relocating aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so.
“We will now work with the airlines on repatriating the passengers who were diverted to other airports in Europe. We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly.
“Our priority remains the safety of our passengers and those working at the airport. As the busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow uses as much energy as a small city, therefore getting back to a full and safe operation takes time. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident.”In a post on X, Heathrow Airport said they are now able to “safely restart flights”. However, people are being urged not to travel to the airport unless they are told to do so.
Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. Weu2019re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/fhUGiXCh6B
It is understood that over 1,350 flights have been disrupted by the electrical substation fire. This means that over 290,000 passengers have been affected.
Sean Doyle, the chief executive of British Airways, said there will be a “hige impact” over the coming days following the “unprecedented” situation.
He said: “To give you an idea of the scale of disruption we face which we’re working to minimise, today we were due to operate more than 670 flights carrying around 107,000 customers, with similar numbers planned over the weekend.”
British Airways has been the worst hit airline at Heathrow Airport today.
British Airways has cancelled all short-haul flights to and from Heathrow for the remainder of the day.
A spokesperson said: “Our teams are currently working hard to review our long-haul schedule.” The airline is looking ahead at the impact of tomorrow’s flight schedule.
Number 10 has said there are questions to be answered about the substation fire this morning.
A government spokesperson said: “We expect those questions to be answered but our clarity right now is on this incident being appropriately dealt with.”
They added: “There is a fire still burning. So, there will be a time for that, but at the moment the priority is to deal with the incident.”
According to the PA news agency, all flights from Scotland to Heathrow have been cancelled due to the electrical substation fire.
The power has been turned back on at Heathrow Terminal 4, according to PA.
The news agency said the lights in the main building and the lifts the car park were working again.
Flightradar24 has revealed where planes have been landing instead of Heathrow.
ud83dudea8 NEW: Where flights due to land at London Heathrow today have been diverted to:

ud83cuddf3ud83cuddf1 AMS (Amsterdam) – 7
ud83cuddeaud83cuddf8 BCN (Barcelona) – 1
ud83cudde7ud83cudde7 BGI (Bridgetown) – 1
ud83cuddfaud83cuddf8 BGR (Bangor) – 1
ud83cuddecud83cudde7 BHX (Birmingham) – 2
ud83cuddfaud83cuddf8 BNA (Nashville) – 1
ud83cuddeeud83cuddf3 BOM (Mumbai) – 1
ud83cuddfaud83cuddf8 BOS (Boston) – 1
ud83cudde7ud83cuddea BRU (Brussels) -u2026
Power has been turned back on in some areas of Heathrow Airport, the National Grid said. 
A spokesman commented: “Working in partnership with the local network operator SSEN Distribution (SSEN), the network has been reconfigured to restore all customers impacted, including the ability to resupply the parts of Heathrow airport that are connected to North Hyde.
“This is an interim solution while we carry out further work at North Hyde to return the substation and our network to normal operation.
“We are continuing to work closely with all stakeholders to manage this incident, and are focused on returning to normal resilience levels as soon as possible.”
BREAKING: Govt sources say the power at Heathrow is back on
Selina Chadha, Group Director for Consumers at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Passengers are advised not to travel to Heathrow at this time and should contact their airlines for the latest flight updates.
“We appreciate the difficulties that travel disruption causes, and we expect airlines to take all necessary steps to support and assist their passengers during this period of disruption.
“The Civil Aviation Authority remains in close contact with Heathrow Airport, airlines, and the Government during this time.”
A BA spokesperson said: “To offer our customers more certainty, we’re offering those booked to travel to or from Heathrow in the coming days (March 21 to March 23 inclusive) flexible options to rebook to a later date for free. Please visit Manage My Booking to see the options available.
“We kindly ask customers to contact us via phone only if they’re due to travel imminently, to allow us to help affected customers as quickly as possible.”
Ian Luder and his wife had planned to fly to Glasgow this morning, and found out that Heathrow Airport had been closed while on the bus.
His wife called the airline only for the operator to say their flight wasn’t cancelled, just delayed for a few hours, despite the airport being closed all day.
He told the Express: “By 4am this morning the only people who didn’t seem to know about the Heathrow incident were British Airways.
“When after half an hour [on the phone] we got through we were taken through all the security measures as if it was a normal day. 
“The BA person said our flight was delayed but would be going within two hours. He wouldn’t agree that Heathrow would be closed all day.”
The couple are now travelling by train to Glasgow.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev taunted Sir Keir Starmer over the fire that forced Heahtrow Airport’s closure.
He wrote on X: “I’m looking forward to Russia being blamed for the Heathrow fire. What are you waiting for, Starmer?”
There is no evidence that Russia is behind the fire or of any foul play.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “We are working with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation. While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time.
“Given the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading enquiries.
“This is due to the specialist resources and capabilities within that command that can assist in progressing this investigation at pace to minimise disruption and identify the cause.”
International Air Transport Association, the trade association for airlines, said in a statement: “This is yet another case of Heathrow letting down both travelers and airlines. And that begs some serious questions.
“Firstly, how is it that critical infrastructure—of national and global importance—is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative. If that is the case—as it seems—then it is a clear planning failure by the airport.
“And, from that arises the question of who bears the costs of taking care of disrupted travelers. We must find a fairer allocation of passenger care costs than airlines alone picking up the tab when infrastructure fails. Until that happens, Heathrow has very little incentive to improve.”
The Prime Minister wrote on X: “I know the situation in Heathrow is causing distress and disruption, especially for those travelling or without power in their homes.
“I’m receiving regular updates and I’m in close contact with partners on the ground. Thanks to our emergency workers for keeping people safe.”
Over 100 planes were forced to re-route or fly back to their departure airport as Heathrow Airport remains closed all day following a fire nearby.
A map by Flightradar24 revealed that 120 planes “in the air that will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins” as of 3:40am on Friday.
The tracking app added that over 1,350 flights would be impacted by the closure.
The UK’s busiest airport, which serves around 200,000 people every day, was affected by the fire at Hayes electricity substation, 1.5 miles away.
The London Fire Bridage said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters responded to the fire, which caused widespread power outages in the local area. They reported no injuries.
A Heathrow spokesperson urged people not to head to the airport, and warned disruption may last for days.
The statement said: “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 24-hour closure of Heathrow Airport is causing major travel chaos that impacting thousands of travellers worldwide.
The major international air hub, which is one of the world’s busiest serving around 200,000 people daily, was affected by a fire at a substation located in Hayes, 1.5 miles away.
As the blaze sparked a power outage affecting the airport, Heathrow bosses decided to close the key international hub for the day.
The London Fire Bridage said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters responded to the fire. They reported no injuries.
A Heathrow spokesperson urged people not to head to the airport, and warned disruption may last for days.
The statement said: “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.”
Flightradar24 believes more than 1,350 flights will be impacted by the closure today.
Heathrow Airport will remain closed all day Friday, causing travel chaos into the weekend.The energy secretary told LBC: “You may wonder whether that we know why this happened. At the moment, the focus is on restoring the power, we don’t yet have any understanding or real understanding of what caused … the fire.
“There’s no suggestion that there is foul play. That is, I mean, the conversation I’ve had is with the National Grid, the chief executive of the National Grid, and certainly that’s what he said to me.”
British Airways said there would be a “significant impact on our operation” in the coming days.
A statement from British Airways following the disruption at London Heathrow Airport on 21 March pic.twitter.com/WGUZiBbJ9n
Heathrow passengers have been turned away by police after ignoring advice and walking to the closed airport.
Heathrow has issued a warning to passengers telling them not to travel “under any circumstances” until it reopens.
Despite this, several have been pictured wheeling suitcases up to the terminal before being turned away by police.Peter Black was meant to be flying from London to Singapore, but is now instead on a coach after Heathrow closed. 
He told the Express that passengers were told they would be diverted to Paris just 90 minutes before landing.
He added: “I’m currently sitting on a coach at CDG airport Paris waiting to start the long trip to London … It’s going to be a long day.”
Ryanair has launched eight “rescue flights” to help people affected by Heathrow’s closure.
u203cufe0fRYANAIR LAUNCHES 8 RESCUE FLIGHTS FOR PASSENGERS AFFECTED BY HEATHROW CLOSUREu203cufe0f

Friday:
2 x Dublin to Stansted
2 x Stansted to Dublin

Saturday:
2 x Dublin to Stansted
2 x Stansted to Dublin

Available from 9.30AM at https://t.co/cgLkPq5oJZ u2708ufe0f
Passengers have been left stranded at Gatwick and Edinburgh airports, as well as Heathrow, after the UK’s busiest airport was forced to close.Flightradar24 revealed that 120 planes were in the air and forced to divert to different routes as of 3:40am.
London-Heathrow will be closed for ALL of Friday due to a u201csignificant power outageu201d caused by a fire in an electrical substation.

There are currently 120 aircraft in the air that will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins. https://t.co/TEHf2kJO23 pic.twitter.com/Lot0lsJLz8
Express.co.uk has compiled a list of every Heathrow flight that has been cancelled today, including to Dublin, Amsterdam, and Miami.
The full list can be found here.
The fire is expected to cause travel delays for days to come.Email rebecca.robinson@reachplc.com if you have been impacted by today’s closure.
So far this morning, there has not appeared to be any major disruption at Gatwick Airport since Heathrow closed. Travellers can check arrivals and departures to and from Gatwick Airport here.
London City was also operating normally, with no major delays reported. Flights to and from the airport can be checked here.
Flights to and from Stansted Airport appeared to be largely on time. Travellers can check for updates here.
Luton Airport also appeared to be operating normally. Travellers can check arrivals here and departures here.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters responded to a fire at an electrical substation on Nestles Avenue in Hayes.
A transformer within the substation was alight. There were no reports of any injuries. 
Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said: “This was a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible. 
“Thanks to their efforts and coordinated multi-agency response, we successfully contained the fire and prevented further spread.
“We will maintain a presence at the scene throughout the day, assisting the National Grid as they assess the site.
“The fire has caused a widespread power outage, affecting many homes, local businesses, and Heathrow Airport. While power has been restored to some properties, we continue to work closely with our partners to minimise disruption.
“Firefighters safely evacuated 29 people from neighbouring properties, and as a precaution, a 200-metre cordon was established, with around 150 people evacuated.
“Due to the significant smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed, as some smoke will remain for a number of hours today. Scientific advisors will also be on-site this morning to conduct further assessments and monitor the air quality.
“Our Control Officers handled more than 200 emergency calls, providing guidance and reassurance to the public.
“As the morning progresses, disruption is expected to continue, and we urge people to avoid the area whenever possible.”
The Brigade was called at 2323 and crews from Hayes, Heathrow, Hillingdon, Southall and surrounding fire stations were mobilised to the scene. The fire was under control by 0628. 
The Brigade’s fire investigators are working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service on the investigation into the cause of the fire. 
The Special Air Service (SAS) said it was affected by Heathrow’s closure following the fire.
It told Reuters: “All our 12 round trips are so far cancelled to and from London Heathrow as the airport is currently closed.”
The diversion of flights following the closure of Heathrow this morning is set to have an impact on other airports in the UK – and Europe. 
Gatwick, another international hub in London, said it is supporting Heathrow by “accepting diverted flights as required”. However, a spokesperson told Sky News that flights from Gatwick are not being affected by the chaos at the other major airport. 
A fire that broke out at a substation in Hayes just before midnight on Thursday has plunged Heathrow into darkness. 
The London Fire Brigade rushed to the area to quash the blaze. But the flames prompted a power outage in the area and forced the evacuation of some 150 people.
Moreover, the outage also affected Heathrow Airport, and left the air hub’s bosses with no choice but shut it until the end of today. 
Plane tracking site Flightradar24 believes an estimated 1,350 may be affected by the closure. 
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “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. 
“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. 
“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.” 
Welcome to our blog. We’ll bring you the latest on the travel chaos sparked by the closure of Heathrow today. 
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