London's Heathrow says unclear when power will be restored

Britain's National Grid said it reconfigured the network around a substation and restored power to the parts of Heathrow Airport connected to it on an interim basis.

"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," a National Grid spokesperson said.

"This is an interim solution while we carry out further work at North Hyde to return the substation and our network to normal operation."

Britain's Heathrow Airport said on Friday that it still did not know when power would be restored, adding that it would provide additional information whenever possible.

"We will provide an update when more information on the resumption of operations is available," a spokesperson for the airport said in a statement.

Heathrow has completely shut down after a large fire at a nearby electrical substation knocked out power to one of the world's busiest airports.

"To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March," Heathrow Airport said in a post on X, adding that "passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information."

The London Fire Brigade announced that a fire at an electricity substation in Hayes that broke out Thursday night and shut down the airport was under control.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a social media post that he was receiving regular updates and that he was in close contact with partners on the ground.

Firefighters and police investigate cause of fire

Jonathan Smith, deputy commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, later said it was working with police to investigate the cause of the fire. Police said there was so far no indication of foul play in the blaze that shut down Heathrow, but counterterrorism detectives are leading the investigation into its cause.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called the fire at a substation that shut down London's Heathrow Airport "catastrophic" and said it also knocked out the hub's backup generator.

According to Willie Walsh, head of the airline industry's trade association IATA, a power outage that led to the complete closure of London's Heathrow Airport was a "clear planning failure" by the aviation hub.

"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," IATA's Director General wrote on X.

It took firefighters all night to contain the blaze at the substation near Heathrow AirportImage: Benjamin Cremel/AFP/Getty Images

Flights being diverted worldwide

Scores of flights were already being diverted to land at other airports.

According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, at the time of the airport's closure, "120 aircraft were in the air that will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins."

A Qantas flight arriving from Perth, Australia, was diverted to Paris' Charles de Gaulle while a United Airlines flight from New York was due to land in Ireland's Shannon instead, news agencies reported.

Some flights from the US were turning around mid-air and returning to their point of departure, according to the Reuters news agency. 

Other flights from as far afield as Lagos, Johannesburg and Singapore were being diverted to nearby Gatwick Airport.

Heathrow, one of Europe's busiest airports, handles more than 80 million passengers a year.

The fire at the Hayes substation cut power to Heathrow Airport and a large number of homes and local businessesImage: London Fire Brigade/PA Media/dpa/picture alliance

Fire Brigade fights serious blaze

Thousands of homes saw their power get knocked out and some 150 people were evacuated after a transformer at the North Hyde electrical substation caught fire in Hayes, around 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) from Heathrow.

The London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were fighting the blaze.

"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 minimize disruption," Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said.

Footage posted to social media showed huge flames and large plumes of smoke coming from the facility.

Fire officials said they were called to the fire around 11.23 p.m. local time on Thursday and crews have been on scene throughout the night.

Edited by: John Silk and Louis Oelofse