Air Travel Disrupted as London Airport Shuts Down

Friday— A power outage at the Heathrow Airport in London has massively disrupted flights across the world as one of the busiest airports in Europe shut its operations.

Over 1000 flights were cancelled and inbounds redirected after a massive power outage occurred at the Heathrow Airport. The cause of the power outage is reported to have been a fire that broke out at the nearby North Hyde electrical substation in Hayes, West London. The power station was supplying electricity for the airport and the vicinity of West London.

Besides the airport, nearby residents have also been impacted, both by the fire and the power outage. More than 67,000 households experienced power disruptions, with 5000 homes still in the dark. At least 150 people were evacuated as a precautionary measure, although no injuries or deaths have been reported so far.

While informing on the fire, the London Fire Brigade said it received over 200 calls to a fire on Thursday night, comprising of 25,000 liters of cooling oil for transformers, fully alight. Detectives from Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command have been deployed to investigate the cause of the fire, even though investigators highly believe that the fire was not a result of a deliberate act.

Although some parts of Heathrow are beginning to get the power back, crucial terminals remain without power. Heathrow’s management reported that disruptions may prolong throughout the day.