A massive fire at a substation near Heathrow Airport forced Britain’s busiest airport to shut down on Friday, leaving passengers stranded worldwide and triggering widespread flight disruptions. The fire, which erupted late Thursday night, knocked out power and backup systems, causing a shutdown that aviation experts compared to the 2010 Icelandic volcanic ash cloud crisis.
Flames and thick black smoke engulfed the substation around 11 p.m. (2300 GMT), cutting power to Heathrow, Europe’s busiest and the world’s fifth-busiest airport. The fire brigade said 25,000 liters of cooling oil in the transformer had ignited. By early morning, firefighters had contained the blaze using white foam. Energy Minister Ed Miliband ruled out foul play as a cause.
Heathrow had been scheduled to handle 1,351 flights and 291,000 passengers on Friday. The sudden closure forced inbound flights to divert to alternative airports across Britain and Europe, while some long-haul flights returned to their departure points.
Stranded travelers scrambled for alternate routes. “When we first came here, it was exciting and hopeful,” said Beau Mahr, 21, from Iowa, U.S. “Now that we have to wait, it’s kind of stressful.”
Industry analysts warned of extensive global disruptions as aircraft and crew were displaced, requiring airlines to reorganize operations. Some passengers arriving in Europe faced potential confinement in transit lounges due to visa restrictions.
Hotel prices near Heathrow skyrocketed, with rooms listed at £500 ($646), nearly five times the usual rates. The airport advised travelers not to come to Heathrow and to contact their airlines for updates. “We apologize for the inconvenience,” Heathrow said in a statement, confirming closure until at least midnight Friday.
Aviation executives and electrical engineers raised concerns about how a single fire could incapacitate such critical infrastructure. Social media images showed the airport in near darkness overnight.
Power supply specialists described the fire as rare but noted that the entire substation had to be shut down for safety. “We can be fairly confident they will restore power by tomorrow,” said Nicholas Rigby, a commercial engineer at NRG Management Consultancy.
Miliband acknowledged the fire had disabled backup systems, and engineers were working to activate an additional emergency power source. “We will investigate why this happened and what lessons can be learned for infrastructure resilience,” he said.
At least 37 flights from airlines including British Airways, jetBlue, American Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada, Air India, Delta Air, Qantas, and Virgin Atlantic were either diverted or forced to return to their points of origin, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
British Airways, the largest operator at Heathrow, had 341 scheduled flights on Friday. Parent company IAG saw its stock price drop, while EasyJet and Ryanair deployed larger aircraft and extra flights to manage the passenger backlog.
“This is going to disrupt airlines worldwide,” said Ian Petchenik, spokesman for FlightRadar24.
Qantas diverted its Perth-to-Paris flight, while United Airlines rerouted a New York flight to Shannon, Ireland. Another United Airlines flight from San Francisco was redirected to Washington, D.C., instead of London. Some flights from the U.S. turned back mid-air to their departure airports.
Heathrow and other major London airports have faced previous disruptions, including an automated gate failure and an air traffic control meltdown in 2023. A Heathrow spokesperson said there was no timeline for power restoration and warned of “significant disruptions” in the coming days.
Meanwhile, power outages extended beyond the airport, affecting homes and businesses across parts of London.
