UK- Heathrow Airport shutdown due to electrical substation fire, causes flight chaos, thousands stranded, 21 March '25*Counter-terror investigation*

[dotr]

Heathrow Airport latest: Shutdown causes flight chaos and leaves thousands stranded

The fire which knocked out power to Heathrow is still burning, as sources tell the BBC counter-terrorism police are investigating as a "precautionary measure".

www.bbc.com

'Summary​

• Heathrow Airport will be closed all day Friday after a fire at a nearby electrical substation that supplies it with power
• The fire is still burning, London Fire Brigade says, with no power at Terminal 2 and 4 as well as 5,000 homes nearby
• Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into the fire, but the Met Police says there's currently no indication of foul play
• Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, warns of days of disruption - more than 1,350 flights are thought to be affected today
• The implications will stretch far wider than Heathrow, and could impact flights much further afield, writes our transport correspondent''

 

[dotr]

Is Russia behind Heathrow Airport closure?

Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

www.dailymail.co.uk

''Counter terrorism police are now leading the probe into an electrical substation fire that has shut London Heathrow Airport for the whole of today amid claims it could be a Russian sabotage attack linked to Vladimir Putin's campaign of disruption.

More than 1,300 flights to and from the UK's busiest airport will be impacted today due to its closure following a blaze at the nearby North Hyde electrical substation.

Thousands of homes were left without power with more than 100 people evacuated after a transformer at the substation caught fire as a huge explosion was heard.''

''Now, experts are analysing whether Russia could be linked to the UK substation fire, which is affecting 679 flights scheduled to land and 678 departures from Heathrow.

Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command is leading the investigation given the need to quickly establish whether sabotage was involved and the pressing security questions relating to how a single fire took down a major piece of infrastructure. ''

 

[dotr]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/heathrow-fire-cancellations-1.7489494

''Air Canada told CBC News 16 of its flights have been cancelled, including six where planes were already in the air and had to return to the airport they'd departed from.

Greater Toronto Airports Authority is advising travellers heading to Toronto's Pearson Airport to check the status of their departures with their airline and that Pearson's social media accounts would provide regular updates.
"Currently all arriving flights are cancelled," the GTAA told CBC.''

Heathrow airport closed: counter-terrorism police leading substation fire investigation - live

Investigators caution that ‘currently no indication of foul play’ as hundreds of flights disrupted

www.theguardian.com

'In a statement quoted by PA, it said:'

“We have multiple sources of energy into Heathrow.

But when a source is interrupted, we have back-up diesel generators and uninterruptable power supplies in place, and they all operated as expected.

Our back-up systems are safety systems which allow us to land aircraft and evacuate passengers safely, but they are not designed to allow us to run a full operation.

As the busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow uses as much energy as a small city, therefore it’s not possible to have back-up for all of the energy we need to run our operation safely.

“We are implementing a process which will allow us to redirect power to the affected areas, but this is a safety critical process which takes time, and maintaining safety remains our priority, so we have taken the decision to close the airport for today.”

 

[trendsetter]

Even if this wasn't the work of Russia it should serve as a wake-up call - no facility like Heathrow should be as vulnerable to a single failure as this airport is.

 

[dotr]

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/london-heathrow-airport-shut-intl-hnk-03-21-25/index.html

''British Airways said Friday that it has been given clearance by London’s Heathrow Airport to depart eight long-haul flights starting at 7 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET) after the airport said it was resuming some flights.'
“We are now urgently contacting customers to let them know so they can make their way to the airport from 5pm,” a British Airways spokesperson said in a statement.
The destinations of the flights include:

• Johannesburg
• Singapore
• Riyadh
• Cape Town
• Sydney
• Buenos Aires

The head of British Airways warned the “unprecedented” disruption will likely continue for many days to come.''

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/21/heathrow-fire-what-it-means-for-aviation-according-to-travel-expert.html

''Key Points

• Anita Mendiratta said the implications of the fire and power outage causing the closure of London’s Heathrow Airport on Friday were “very wide.”
• Mendiratta, founder of founder of consultancy AM&A, said the “extreme” growth of aviation globally is outpacing the increase in supporting infrastructure.
• Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) described Heathrow’s reliance on a “single” power source as a “clear planning failure.”

 

[Herat]

The first plane has landed at Heathrow.

A British Airways flight was flown from Gatwick airport into Heathrow to place the aircraft for the reinstitution of passenger service out of Heathrow Airport.

 

[Herat]

Two more of the large British Airways Airbus 380-841 are on approach to Heathrow to keep filling Heathrow with planes in preparation for departures tomorrow in the Terminal 5 international gates.

These can take in excess of 500 passengers, so these will be the long-haul carriers.

One was depoted at Manchester airport and the other had been depoted at Gatwick.

Another BA plane, a 777, has just departed Gatwick for positioning at Heathrow.

 

[Herat]

Numeous long-haul flights are now lined up for landing at Heathrow, this moring local time.

The flights originated in Singapore, Dallas, Doha Qatar, and Hong Kong

Looks a lot like Heathrow is open for business.

 

[trendsetter]

Airlines warned Heathrow about power supply days before shutdown

MPs hear the airport was warned about power supply resilience days before the disruptive closure.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[trendsetter]

Problems with Heathrow power are not new:

Harmondsworth detention centre to be emptied by the end of the day

Detainees say they have not been told where they are going as minister announces closure after protests over conditions

www.theguardian.com

Asylum seekers evacuated from hotel near Heathrow after power failure

More than 500 people forced to leave site, with some unsure of where to spend the night

www.theguardian.com