Heathrow Airport: Navigating London's Busy Travel Hub

London Heathrow Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, serving as a major hub for both passengers and cargo. In 2024, the airport handled around 1,300 landings and take-offs each day, facilitating over 200,000 travellers and processing nearly half of all cargo in the UK. As such, any disruptions at Heathrow can have a significant impact on global travel. On March 21, 2025, a fire at a nearby electrical substation caused a power outage, leading to the airport's closure and triggering travel chaos worldwide.

Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe

The fire broke out at 8 pm on Thursday, and the airport announced its closure six hours later. Heathrow's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, apologised for the shutdown and said the airport had done well to resume flights by Friday evening, given the scale of the outage. Woldbye also stated that as the airport reopens, officials would prioritise flights that had been stranded in Europe.

Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports and a major cargo hub, serving 234 destinations in more than 85 nations last year, according to its website. In 2023, it processed nearly half (48%) of all cargo in the UK, with goods worth $256.6 billion passing through. The airport also handled a total of 482,143 aircraft last year, including 479,506 passenger planes and 2,637 cargo aircraft.

The closure of Heathrow has caused massive disruption, with upwards of 145,000 passengers impacted and the airline industry facing losses of hundreds of billions of dollars. British Airways was the most affected airline, with over half of its Friday schedule cancelled. The airline offered flexible rebooking options to affected passengers and worked to review its long-haul schedule and implications for upcoming flights.

A fire at a substation caused the shutdown

London's Heathrow Airport, one of the world's busiest airports, facilitating around 1,300 landings and take-offs each day, was closed on Friday, March 21, 2025, due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation. The fire, which broke out in Hayes, resulted in a power outage and the cancellation of nearly 1,000 flights, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of passengers.

The North Hyde substation in west London, located about 2-3 miles from the airport, caught fire on Thursday night, around midnight. The London Fire Brigade reported that a transformer holding 25,000 liters of cooling oil caught fire and took seven hours to bring under control. Smoke was still rising from the site 24 hours later.

Heathrow Airport was closed for approximately 18 hours, with bosses announcing its closure six hours after the fire broke out. The shutdown sparked travel chaos across the globe, with over 200,000 passengers stranded in airports worldwide and dozens of flights diverted or cancelled. British Airways was the most affected airline, with over half of its Friday schedule cancelled.

While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, police have stated that there is no indication of foul play, and it is not being treated as a potentially criminal matter. Counter-terrorism officers were briefly involved in the investigation, but the Metropolitan Police have since shifted their focus to supporting the London Fire Brigade and other partners in determining the cause of the blaze.

The airport resumed operations on Saturday, March 22, and airlines worked to clear the backlog, offering flexible rebooking options to affected passengers. Heathrow's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, acknowledged the impact of the incident, stating that the airport's backup systems "worked the way they should" and that he was proud of how Heathrow workers responded to the fire.

The fire disrupted travel for thousands of passengers

London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest airport, was closed on Friday, March 21, 2025, due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of passengers. The fire broke out at the North Hyde electrical substation, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the airport, around 11 pm on Thursday, March 20, and caused a power outage at the airport.

The London Fire Brigade reported that a transformer holding 25,000 liters (5,000 gallons) of cooling oil caught fire and took seven hours to bring under control, with isolated hotspots still alight 24 hours later. Heathrow Airport executives defended their response to the fire, stating that safely restarting operations after a disruption of this magnitude was a significant challenge. The closure of the airport, which handles around 1,300 landings and take-offs daily, led to travel chaos across the globe, with tens of thousands of passengers stranded at airports and dozens of flights diverted or canceled.

British Airways was the most affected airline, with over half of its Friday schedule canceled. American Airlines, a British Airways partner, canceled nearly 20 flights to and from London on Friday. Heathrow Airport's closure also impacted flights from various destinations, including the US, the Caribbean, India, Japan, and Australia. Some passengers were diverted to other London airports, such as Gatwick, while others were provided with overnight accommodations.

The fire and power outage affected not only the airport but also thousands of homes and local businesses in the area. The National Grid is investigating the resilience of the airport's infrastructure, as the fire also impacted a backup generator. Counterterrorism police are leading the investigation into the fire, given its location and impact on critical national infrastructure. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Heathrow Airport resumed flights late on Friday, with the first flight departing shortly after the closure ended. The airport operated a full schedule on Saturday, March 22, and airlines worked to clear the backlog, but disruptions continued into the weekend. It is expected to take several days to get all stranded passengers to their destinations and restore aircraft operations to normal.

Airlines scrambled to divert flights to other airports

London's Heathrow Airport is one of the world's busiest aviation hubs, handling around 1,300 landings and take-offs each day. So, when a fire at a nearby electrical substation caused a power outage and forced Heathrow to shut down on Friday, March 21, 2025, it sparked travel chaos across the globe.

At the time of the closure, 120 flights were already on their way to Heathrow, and pilots—mostly flying from Asia—had to scramble to work out where they could land. Some lucky passengers were diverted to other London airports, such as Gatwick. However, many others were diverted to airports far from their intended destination, including Glasgow, Madrid, and even Happy Valley-Goose Bay, a small town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The shutdown disrupted travel plans for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide and led to mass cancellations and diversions, affecting airlines and travellers everywhere. British Airways was the most affected airline, with over half of its Friday schedule cancelled. American Airlines, a British Airways partner, reported that nearly 20 flights from Thursday were diverted or cancelled, and they provided overnight hotels for affected customers.

Heathrow officials said airlines would make it a priority to relocate planes and crews and bring in flights diverted to other cities as they worked to untangle a day of disrupted service. Heathrow's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, described the disruption as "unprecedented" and said that while backup systems worked as they should, there had not been enough power for the entire airport.

Heathrow's CEO expects the airport to be fully running by the next day

Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest airport, was closed on Friday, March 21, 2025, due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation. The fire caused a power outage, disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers and impacting flights worldwide.

British Airways was the most affected airline, with over half of its Friday schedule canceled. The airline offered flexible rebooking options to affected passengers. American Airlines, a British Airways partner, canceled nearly 20 flights to and from London and provided hotel accommodations for impacted customers.

Heathrow Airport slowly resumed operations on Saturday, March 22, with airlines working to clear the backlog. The airport made space for extra flights, but it was expected to take several days to get all stranded passengers to their destinations. Heathrow's CEO expressed confidence that the airport would be fully operational by the following day.

As one of the world's busiest airports, handling around 1,300 landings and take-offs daily, the closure caused significant disruption. Heathrow's shutdown highlighted the airport's critical role in global air travel, with travelers and airlines worldwide feeling the impact.

The fire at the North Hyde electrical substation, located about 2 miles from the airport, knocked out power to Heathrow late on Thursday. The London Fire Brigade worked tirelessly to bring the blaze under control, and while isolated hotspots remained 24 hours later, the airport was able to resume operations the next day.

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