New Delhi:
An estimated 1,351 flights, together with these operated by Air India, had been cancelled or diverted Friday after London’s Heathrow airport shut down for the day. This was after a fireplace at {an electrical} substation within the western a part of the town triggered a widespread energy outage.
There isn’t a phrase but on when energy will probably be restored to the airport, authorities advised the BBC.
Aside from chaos at Heathrow – one of many busiest airports on the earth and largest of 5 serving London and close by areas – greater than 16,000 houses within the UK capital misplaced energy.
As many as 120 flights had been within the air over Heathrow, both having simply taken off or about to land.
Among these due had been the AI129 service from Mumbai and the AI161 from Delhi. The previous will return and the latter has been diverted to Frankfurt in Germany, the Indian service mentioned in an announcement.
“All our remaining flights to and from London Heathrow, together with AI111 (one other Delhi-London service) have been cancelled for 21 March. We’ll replace about resumption as quickly as we now have info.”
#ImportantUpdate
Because of a major energy outage, London Heathrow Airport has been shut down till 23:59 on twenty first March. All Air India flights to and from London Heathrow for twenty first March have been cancelled.For extra info or help, please name our Contact Centre at…
— Air India (@airindia) March 21, 2025
Flights to and from London’s Gatwick, nevertheless, will probably be unaffected, and the airport, which is about 60km southeast of Heathrow, has mentioned it should settle for flights diverted from Heathrow.
Aside from Air India, quite a few different airways have introduced cancellations and/or diversions, with Heathrow authorities additionally warning of “important disruptions over the approaching days”.
Main Airways Cancel, Divert Flights
British Airways, whose fundamental hub is Heathrow, has suggested passengers to not journey there until additional discover. The airline advised the BBC there will probably be “a major affect on our operation and our clients”.
The Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam mentioned half of the day’s 30 flights to and from Heathrow at the moment had been cancelled. Up to now, one flight has been diverted to Schiphol, it mentioned on X.
Hong Kong service Cathay Pacific Airways has additionally cancelled all its flights. It had six scheduled from Hong Kong to Heathrow for at the moment. One service – CX257 – had already left and has been recalled.
Australia’s flagship airline, Qantas, advised the BBC it’s “intently monitoring the scenario”. Two of its flights, the Perth to London service and from Singapore, have been diverted to De Gaulle in Paris, France.
US-based United Airways has mentioned its schedule has additionally been affected.
London Substation Fire Replace
The hearth that affected Heathrow and swathes of the UK capital was at a substation in Hayes within the metropolis’s Hillingdon borough. As many as 16,000 houses had been left with out electrical energy after the blaze, the Scottish and Southern Electrical energy Community, which provides energy to three.8 million houses throughout the UK, mentioned.
READ | Main Fire In London Substation, Heathrow Airport Closed
The London Fire Brigade deployed 10 hearth engines and 70 firefighters to manage the hearth.
Visuals of the hearth had been shared on-line by Sputnik, Russia’s state-owned information company. It confirmed a blaze lighting up the evening sky, with a large plume of smoke rising into the air.
As of 11.34 am (India time) the blaze stays energetic, London hearth officers mentioned.
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