LONDON — A fire at an electrical substation in London has caused a power outage forcing Heathrow airport to shutter for a full day.
At least 1,350 flights will be be impacted, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar 24 — not including flights that might be cancelled or delayed due to aircrafts being out of position.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow” for the full day, the airport said, adding that it expects "significant disruption over the coming days."
Passengers have been advised to not travel to the airport under any circumstances until it is reopened.
Scores of flights have been diverted to other airports and several, including United Airlines flights from the US, have been canceled according to the airline.
Some flights arriving from the US to the airport were forced to turn around mid-air and return to their point of departure.
Qantas, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have all recorded disruption to their flight services as aircraft carriers were forced to quickly shuffle their planes and crews around as a result of the incident.
The power outage was sparked when a transformer within an electrical substation in west London caught fire.
The London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to the scene at 10.23 pm CET Thursday. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
The fire has also caused significant disruption to the surrounding area with power outages impacting more than 16,300 homes. The fire brigade said it received nearly 200 calls related to the incident and deployed crews from Hayes, Heathrow, Hillingdon, Southhall and surrounding areas on the scene.
Footage posted to social media showed huge flames and large plumes of smoke coming from the facility.
National Grid UK issued a statement saying the fire had damaged equipment, adding it was working at speed to "restore power supplies as quickly as possible."
Heathrow has said the closure would last until midnight on Friday. — Euronews
