Heathrow Airport Shuts Down, Disrupting Over 1,300 Flights

Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest travel hubs, announced a temporary closure until midnight on Friday due to a significant power outage caused by a fire at an electrical substation.

The disruption has thrown travel plans into chaos, affecting thousands of passengers and forcing the diversion of numerous flights.

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Heathrow Airport confirmed the closure, advising passengers not to travel to the airport and to contact their airlines for further updates.

“Due to a significant power failure caused by a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility, Heathrow will be closed until 23:59 on 21 March,” the statement read. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the shutdown is expected to impact at least 1,351 flights. At the time of the announcement, 120 aircraft in the air were set to be diverted to alternate airports or return to their origin.

The incident has created widespread disruption at the airport, which handled nearly 84 million passengers in 2024, marking its busiest year on record.

Heathrow, ranked among the top 10 busiest airports globally, serves as a critical gateway for international travel.

The power outage highlights the vulnerability of major transportation hubs to technical failures and the cascading effects on global travel networks.

Passengers are urged to monitor updates from Heathrow Airport and their respective airlines as authorities work to resolve the issue and restore normal operations.