London Heathrow Airport Shuts Down After Major Power Outage
London Heathrow Airport's shutdown has left travelers stranded, with over 1,300 flights worldwide expected to be impacted. A fire at an electrical substation caused a significant power outage, severely disrupting operations at one of the world’s busiest airports. As the world's fourth-busiest airport in 2023, Heathrow set a record with 83.9 million passengers passing through last year.
Passengers have been advised not to travel to Heathrow and to contact their airlines for updates. The airport, which serves major airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, typically handles over 1,300 flights and 200,000 passengers daily. According to our data, the outage has forced diversions of inbound flights, including those operated by Qantas Airways, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines.
Of the 679 scheduled arrivals and 678 departures at London Heathrow today, most are likely to be canceled due to the incident. L The airport will remain closed until 23:59 UTC on March 21, 2025.
Across Europe, flight delays have accumulated to 30,048 minutes, averaging 1.2 minutes per flight. En-route delays account for 15,973 minutes (53%), while airport-related delays total 14,075 minutes (47%). A total of 261 flights have experienced delays of 30 minutes or more.
Find this and more stats at AirNavRadar.com/statistics/airports/EGLL
The London Fire Brigade dispatched 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters to the substation in Hayes, just north of the airport, to tackle the blaze.
“This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night. As we head into the morning, disruption is expected to increase,” said the brigade’s Assistant Commissioner, Pat Goulbourne.
The UK’s aviation authorities have issued a NOTAM (A1918/25) stating: “AD CLOSED DUE TO A MAJOR INCIDENT IN THE LOCAL VICINITY AFFECTING POWER SUPPLY.”
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