Heathrow Airport continues to experience “a significant power outage” following a massive fire at North Hyde Electricity Substation on Nestles Avenue in Hayes, west London
Heathrow Airport will be closed all day today after a huge fire at an electrical substation supplying the hub.
Tourists have been warned not to arrive for scheduled flights as the airport continues to experience “a significant power outage” following the blaze at North Hyde Electricity Substation in nearby Hayes, west London.
“Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation. Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025,” a spokesperson for the country’s busiest airport said this morning.
It means all operations into and out of the airport will be scrapped throughout the whole day, including journeys for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Nearly 84million passengers passed through the airport in 2024.
More than 200,000 people travel through the airport every day and the chaos expected from the closure is set to have drawn out effects over the weekend. The Heathrow Express rail link will also not run today, the airport confirmed.
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The spokesperson added: “We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.
“We will provide an update when more information on the resumption of operations is available. We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to reassure that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation.”
Thousands of homes have been left without power and more than 100 people were evacuated after a transformer within the North Hyde electrical substation caught fire at around 11.15pm on Thursday. A 200-metre cordon has been put in place as a precaution.
Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner with London Fire Brigade, said: “This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible.
“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 minimise disruption.”
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said in a post on X there was a large-scale power outage in the area impacting more than 16,300 homes. It said: “We’re aware of a widespread power cut affecting many of our customers around the Hayes, Hounslow and surrounding areas.” The Mirror has contacted National Grid, which operates North Hyde Electricity Substation, for comment.
