Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has ordered the National Energy System Operator to “urgently investigate” a power outage caused by a substation fire that shut Heathrow Airport on Friday, causing major disruption for thousands of people.
The investigation will try to build a clear picture of the circumstances surrounding the fire and the UK’s energy resilience more broadly to prevent a similar case from happening again, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.
Mr Miliband said: “The loss of power to the Heathrow area has caused major disruption to thousands of people and many businesses. We are determined to properly understand what happened and what lessons need to be learned.
“That is why working with Ofgem, I have today commissioned the National Energy System Operator to carry out an investigation into this specific incident and to understand any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure, both now and in the future.
“The Government is determined to do everything it can to prevent a repeat of what happened at Heathrow. This review will be an important step in helping us to do so, as we deliver our plan for change.”
Flights have begun landing at Heathrow as the airport works to return to normal operations on Saturday following its closure due to a major power failure.
Flights resumed at the west London hub on Friday evening after a fire at an electricity substation in Hayes late Thursday knocked out power to terminals and grounded hundreds of flights.
Follow the latest updates below...
Key Points
- Urgent investigation launched over Heathrow power outage, says Ed Miliband
- Heathrow announces complete shutdown over substation fire
- Counter-terror police investigate cause of blaze
Live coverage ends
19:45 , Jacob PhillipsOur live coverage has ended. Read all of the latest updates from the Standard here.
Heathrow chairman: 'We are committed to finding any potential learnings from this unprecedented incident'
19:15 , Jacob PhillipsFormer transport secretary Ruth Kelly, who is an independent member of Heathrow’s board, will undertake a review of the airport’s crisis management plans and its response to a power outage caused by a substation fire, Heathrow chairman Lord Paul Deighton said.
Lord Paul said: “Closing the airport yesterday had significant impacts for our passengers, our customers, our colleagues and the country.
“Heathrow regrets the disruption this caused. We hope that all those affected understand that the decision was made in order to prioritise the safety of our passengers and colleagues.
“We are committed to finding any potential learnings from this unprecedented incident.
“To fully understand what happened, I have asked Ruth Kelly, former secretary of state for transport and an independent member of Heathrow’s Board, to undertake a review.
“The Kelly Review will analyse all of the relevant material concerning the robustness and execution of Heathrow’s crisis management plans, the airport’s response during the incident and how the airport recovered the operation with the objective of identifying any improvements that could be made to our future resilience.”
Recap: Heathrow trying to get extra 10,000 passengers through airport on Saturday
17:37 , Jacob PhillipsEarlier today, Heathrow said it added 50 slots to Saturday’s schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Heathrow is open and fully operational today.
“Teams across the airport continue to do everything they can to support passengers impacted by yesterday’s outage at an off-airport power substation.
“We have hundreds of additional colleagues on hand in our terminals and we have added flights to today’s schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport.
“Passengers travelling today should check with their airline for the latest information regarding their flight.”
Heathrow boss hopes investigation will 'strengthen airport's future resilience'
17:11Heathrow Airport's Chief Executive Officer Thomas Woldbye has welcomed an investigation into the power outage that closed Europe’s busiest airport on Friday.
In a statement, he said: "We will support every effort to understand the causes and impacts of yesterday's off-airport incident and we are committed to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure a thorough investigation."
Urgent investigation launched over Heathrow power outage, says Ed Miliband
15:30 , Josh ButlerEnergy Secretary Ed Miliband has ordered the Energy System Operator to urgently investigate the power outage that shut down Heathrow Airport on Friday.
He is working with Ofgem and using powers under the Energy Act to formally launch the grid operator’s investigation.
Mr Miliband said: "The loss of power to the Heathrow area has caused major disruption to thousands of people and many businesses.
“We are determined to properly understand what happened and what lessons need to be learned.
"That is why working with Ofgem, I have today commissioned the National Energy System Operator to carry out an investigation into this specific incident and to understand any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure, both now and in the future.”
2. That is why working with Ofgem, I have today commissioned the NESO to carry out an investigation into this specific incident and to understand any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure, both now and in the future.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) March 22, 2025
Some flights still being cancelled even as Heathrow 'returns to normal'
14:50 , Josh ButlerReports from inside Heathrow suggest that business is almost back to normal after the massive disruption of the previous day, however, thirty upcoming flights remain cancelled.
Even though Heathrow is ‘fully operational’, seven departure and twenty three arrivals flights are marked as cancelled on the Heathrow boards, alongside several delays, so it is still advisable to check your flight status before leaving home.
See a full list of flight cancellations here
Scenes inside the airport seem to have lost that sense of anxious uncertainty which must have prevailed earlier today and late last night, with Sky and BBC News reporting on a ‘normal’ looking day as travellers flood back inside.
Transport Committee chair highlights lack of Heathrow energy infrastructure
14:23 , Josh ButlerLabour MP and chair of the Transport Committee, Ruth Cabury, has said in a BBC interview that the Heathrow area lacks electricity infrastructure, an oversight of the previous government which will take time to address.
Ms Cabury said, however, that it was too early to say whether this had an impact on the shutdown of Heathrow yesterday.
Asked to comment on what the recent incident meant for the plans for a third Heathrow runway, Ms Cadbury suggested that there would be time to improve grid capacity before such plans were realised.
No new overhead lines are expected in the Heathrow area until 2036.
US teacher says Heathrow disruption caused ‘stressful’ end to London trip
13:55 , Sami QuadriA woman accompanying a school trip from the US said flight cancellations at Heathrow on Saturday had resulted in a “stressful” end to the journey.
Speaking at the airport, Christine Eckles, 50, told the PA news agency: “It was a delay at first, a three-hour delay, and then we found out our flight to Chicago was cancelled.
“We’re having to work on how to get a new flight out with British Airways.”
Ms Eckles, who is accompanying students from Iowa, added: “It’s been stressful.
“We’re at the end of our trip and we have had a wonderful time in London and Paris, and everybody’s ready to go home and back to their spring break.”
Air India resumes Heathrow flights after disruption
13:34Air India has announced that its operations to and from Heathrow Airport have resumed following yesterday’s disruption.
“Today’s flight AI111 was on schedule and other flights, to and from London, are expected to operate as per schedule,” the airline said in a statement.
Meanwhile, flight AI161 — which had diverted to Frankfurt — is expected to depart at 14:05 local time, the airline added.
Pictured: Plane flies near Heathrow substation that caught fire
13:32
Economic cost of shutdown could top £100m
12:54 , Josh ButlerThe economic impact of the Heathrow shutdown is estimated by some economists to be north of £100m, with major disruption to international trade and tourism.
As Europe’s busiest airport, Heathrow handles nearly £200bn worth of cargo every year, almost half of the total for the UK.
The founder of Endau Analytics, an aviation industry advisory firm, told Sky News that the financial loss could be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
These dizzying figures take into account not only the loss in business, but also the expenses paid out for passengers, crew accommodation, transport and fuel.
Economist Stephen Rooney told the Independent that the lost tourism revenue could amount to around £5m per day of disruption, with more than a third of international arrivals to the UK coming through Heathrow.
This blow to the UK economy comes just days before the Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Spring Statement on the countries finances.
"Net-stupid-zero" blamed by Reform deputy leader for Heathrow chaos
12:04 , Josh ButlerThe Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has accused net zero policies of causing the Heathrow shut-down.
Mr Tice, speaking to GB news, alleged the incident can be blamed on the replacement of diesel backup generators with bio-mass generators which failed to provide the necessary power to avoid the closure.
The Reform MP claimed that an aviation expert had revealed this information exclusively to him.
However, a statement from Heathrow disputes these claims, saying that backup generators worked as expected.
Mr Tice said: “Their net zero compliant backup system has completely failed in its core function at the first point of asking, it beggars belief.
“Net-stupid-zero has the most catastrophic consequences.”
NET STUPID ZERO led to Heathrow shut down
— Richard Tice MP 🇬🇧 (@TiceRichard) March 21, 2025
Refusal to have diesel generators meant no reliable sufficient back up
Nearby data centres with same load as Heathrow were fine - had diesel back up
Disgraceful
Net Zero makes UK global laughing stock https://t.co/qdYrEjllsR
Others, such as the chief executive of Heathrow, Thomas Woldbye, have suggested that an incident of this magnitude would have severely affected any airport, and that backup generators cannot be expected restore Heathrow to full, safe operations.
‘Smart booking’ helped me beat Heathrow chaos, says traveller
11:25 , Josh ButlerA passenger at Heathrow has said that purchasing flights all in one booking helped him avoid the worst of the disruption.
Rob Walford, 74 , was due to fly to Heathrow yesterday from a holiday in Nice and claims that his decision to change his flight at the airport Friday morning was crucial in getting him a replacement flight that left earlier today.
He warned against booking separate flights, suggesting that such bookings were more susceptible to travel disruption.
Speaking at Heathrow’s terminal 5, Mr Walford told PA: “The wisest thing we did, though, while in Nice was take the tram to the airport and then rebook us first thing this morning.
“Here's the thing, if you book a flight, make it all one (journey).
“If we hadn't done that, we wouldn't be here.”
London woman ‘frustrated’ to miss part of close friend’s wedding after Heathrow chaos
11:09 , Josh ButlerA London woman is “frustrated” to miss part of her close friend’s wedding after cancellations mean she will arrive late to the Cambodian ceremony after paying double for a new flight.
Farah Rafeeq, 24, was due to travel with Singapore Airlines on Friday from Heathrow with her pregnant friend Niken Wulan, 32, to another friend's wedding in Cambodia on Sunday.
The pair will now arrive late and miss the first part of her friends special day.
In addition to the delay, Ms Rafeeq claims she had to fork out double the amount, between £600 and £700, for a new flight.
Ms Rafeeq said: “The last few hours have been nightmarish because it is one of our closest friends' wedding and we have to travel for at least 20 hours to get there.
“We had planned this trip for months, we are missing the morning ceremony but at least we can make it for the reception.”
Singapore Airlines have resumed flights to Heathrow this morning.
The company’s website states that: “Customers who were affected by impacted flights can seek a full refund of the unused portion of their ticket.”
How one fire closed the busiest airport in Europe
10:46 , Josh ButlerIt seems almost absurd that Europe’s busiest airport, that requires enough power for a small town, could be brought to its knees by the failure of single part of its energy infrastructure.
Indeed, the incident has raised serious concerns over the lack of a contingency plan to prevent such a disaster.
As you would expect, Heathrow does have multiple electricity sources, with backups designed to kick in during a critical failure.
However, it appears that, as a National Grid insider told the BBC, the fire that tore through the Hayes substation simply damaged a “particularly important bit” of infrastructure which rendered the backups ineffective.
The purpose of a substation is to transform high voltage electricity to a lower voltage that is safe for use.
This process results in a great deal of heat being generated, that heat is cooled using flammable oil and it was this which ignited to cause the fire.
Due to the shear amount of energy Heathrow consumes, it is not feasible to have a contingency system meet the power demands required for safe operation.
Heathrow's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, said during an interview with Radio 4 today that no airport has the backup power supply to resolve an incident of yesterday’s magnitude within a short space of time.
He claimed that the same would have happened in any other airport.
Dr Robin Preece, a reader in future power systems at the University of Manchester, suggested that fires like the one yesterday are very uncommon.
He told Sky News that if the substation had merely broken down, there may not have been any disruption noticed by the public.
Although some have raised the possibility of an intentional, terror-related attack to cause the fire, police investigators have insisted that there is no evidence of foul play.
Virgin Atlantic to run "near full schedule" of flights today
10:08 , Josh ButlerVirgin Atlantic has said it plans to run a “near full schedule” of flights today with limited cancellations.
The airline posted on X this morning apologising for the disruption and stating its intention to ensure that affected customers can complete their journey quickly.
— virginatlantic (@VirginAtlantic) March 22, 2025
This is after the airline cancelled all flights yesterday until 9:30pm.
Pictured: Smiles in arrivals as passengers return to Heathrow
09:59 , Sami Quadri
Heathrow chief executive grilled on whether he should keep his job
09:45 , Josh ButlerHeathrow's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, has been asked, in an interview with Radio 4, whether he should remain in his role in the wake of yesterday’s closure.
When asked if he should still be in the job, Mr Woldbye declined to comment, saying he would “let others judge” if his position becomes an issue.
Mr Woldbye insisted that he was “proud” of how Heathrow responded to the incident, stating that the situation did not originate within the airport, but rather outside, with his team having to “deal with consequences.”
He said: “I am proud of what the people did to get us out of the situation
“I do not know of an airport that has a backup supply that can switch on in minutes, to the magnitude of what we experienced yesterday.
“The same would happen in other airports.”
Heathrow flights mostly resume but cancellations and delays continue
09:22 , Josh ButlerWith most flights running as scheduled, Heathrow is currently showing 29 cancelled departures on its board today, though some delayed flights remain operational.
See the list of cancellations here.
Despite operations returning to normal, British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle has warned of a "huge impact on all of our customers flying with us over the coming days."
United Airlines has issued a travel alert indicating Heathrow flights will be affected until at least Sunday.
Meanwhile, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye told the BBC he is "proud" of the airport's response to the power outage, adding he is "sincerely sorry" for the disruption.
'Engineer error may have caused' Heathrow fire that paralysed airport
08:40 , Josh ButlerA person familiar with the investigations into the substation fire told the Politico London Playbook that a mistake by an electrical engineer appears to be the cause.
The person said: “It’s always cockup rather than conspiracy”.
Although counter terrorism police have been leading the investigation, government officials have insisted from yesterday morning that there is no evidence of foul play.
Previous questions about criminal damage or terrorism have now been dismissed.
There is currently no official word on who or what is to blame for the incident and both police, Heathrow and the National Grid are working to establish the facts.
American tourist praised the "fantastic" response to Heathrow disruption
08:26 , Josh ButlerA tourist holidaying in the UK from Dallas, Texas, has described his experience dealing with a delayed return flight as “fantastic”, highlighting the excellent communication from both Heathrow and American Airlines.
Speaking at Heathrow, Tim Kolb, told PA news that: “"I thought I was going to be there (Dallas) delayed two days, but I went over yesterday.
"It was organised well. In fact, they had several planes leaving within an hour of each other to Heathrow.
"The way everybody responded and fell into action, it was fantastic."
Mr Kolb also had good things to say about American Airlines, with which he was flying.
He said: “American Airlines did a fabulous job - we didn't have to wait in the line or anything. They got us our accommodation reservation."
Mr Kolb was one of the passengers whose flight took off yesterday, despite the disruption caused by a substation fire which saw terminals closed and most flights grounded until the evening or the following day.
Departures mostly on track after Heathrow resumes operations
08:11 , Josh ButlerThe Heathrow departure board shows that most flights are running as scheduled today with only a small handful of cancellations.
Despite Heathrow still urging passengers to get in touch with their airlines before travelling, the vast majority of flights are set to take off on time.
The first flights from Heathrow took off at 6am this morning, taking passengers to Lisbon, Vienna and Zurich.
Power restored to area connected to North Hyde substation, National Grid says
07:55 , Josh ButlerPower has been resorted to the homes and other customers connected to the North Hyde substation, according a National Grid post on X.
In the update the National Grid apologised for the disruption and said it is working to determine the cause of the incident.
The post said: “We are now implementing measures to help further improve the resilience levels of our network.”
Power supplies have been restored to all customers connected to our North Hyde substation, including Heathrow, allowing operations to resume at the airport. We are now implementing measures to help further improve the resilience levels of our network.
— National Grid UK (@nationalgriduk) March 22, 2025
We are deeply sorry for the…
This suggests that the 67,000 homes initially struck by the power outage have now been reconnected to the grid, with 5,000 said to have been left without power yesterday evening.
Heathrow 'fully operational' following outage
07:06 , Sami QuadriHeathrow Airport has confirmed it is “open and fully operational” today following major disruption caused by a power outage at an off-site substation.
In a statement, a spokesperson said teams across the airport were working hard to support passengers impacted by yesterday’s issues. “We have hundreds of additional colleagues on hand in our terminals and we have added flights to today’s schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport,” they said.
Travellers are still being advised to check with their airline for the latest updates before heading to the airport.
Heathrow disruption continues despite first flights landing
06:15 , Sami QuadriThe first aircraft touched down at Heathrow at 04:45am this morning following yesterday's airport chaos - but disruption continues to plague Britain's busiest airport.
Nine of the day's first 20 scheduled arrivals were scrapped, affecting passengers from major global hubs including Singapore, Doha, New York, Nairobi and Lagos.
Heathrow chief Thomas Woldbye insists the airport is aiming for "full operation" today. However, British Airways warns only 85 per cent of its planned flights will operate, with delays expected throughout the day.
First flights set to depart Heathrow after day of chaos
06:13 , Sami QuadriIt’s approaching 6.30am in London and the first planes of the day are shortly due to take off from Heathrow, following yesterday's chaotic total closure of the airport.
Three flights are expected to depart on time - a TAP Air Portugal bound for Lisbon, an Austrian Airlines to Vienna, and a Swiss Airlines flight to Zurich.
According to Heathrow, just one of the day's first 20 scheduled departures has been cancelled - the 06:35 Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.
Eight aircraft were permitted to depart yesterday evening, all operating long-haul routes.
That's all from us
Friday 21 March 2025 20:06 , Daniel KeaneOur live coverage will resume early tomorrow morning.
Full statement from the Fire Brigade
Friday 21 March 2025 19:41 , Daniel KeaneIn a statement on Friday evening, London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Jonathan Smith said: "London Fire Brigade Fire Investigation Officers, supported by a scientific adviser, have been working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to investigate the cause of this fire.
"The MPS has confirmed that the fire is believed to be non-suspicious. LFB's investigation will now focus on the electrical distribution equipment.
"The Brigade is the enforcing authority for the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and has therefore had Fire Safety Officers at the scene to follow up various lines of enquiry, and work will continue into the coming weeks.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Firefighters and Control officers for their courage and professionalism in bringing this incident under control in what were very challenging circumstances."
Fire brigade says blaze is 'believed to be non-suspicious'
Friday 21 March 2025 19:32 , Daniel KeaneThe fire at the electricity substation which led to Heathrow Airport's closure on Friday "is believed to be non-suspicious" and the investigation will"focus on the electrical distribution equipment", London Fire Brigade said.
First flight lands at Heathrow since closure
Friday 21 March 2025 19:11 , Daniel KeaneThe first flight to land at Heathrow since the airport was closed due to a fire has just down.
The British Airways BAW35JG flight arrived from Gatwick Airport on the Heathrow tarmac just after 6pm UK time.
Restrictions on overnight flights temporarily lifted to ease congestion
Friday 21 March 2025 18:53 , Daniel KeaneRestrictions on overnight flights have been temporarily lifted to help ease congestion following the closure of Heathrow Airport, the Department of Transport said in a post on X.
According to Heathrow's website, there is no formal ban on night flights but since the 1960s, the Government has placed restrictions on them. There is an annual limit of 5,800 night-time take-offs and landings between the hours of 11.30pm and 6am as well as a nightly limit, which caps the amount of noise the airport can make at night.
The DfT also said it had allowed passengers to use rail tickets flexibly.
'I am tired and cranky'
Friday 21 March 2025 18:45 , Daniel KeaneJoshua Richardson's flight from Quantum, Perth, was diverted to Paris at 4am today, where over 400 passengers from two planes were put on coaches to their final destinations.
He arrived in Heathrow after travelling for over 32 hours in total, still needing to get to Oxford.
The 31-year-old said: "We first found out because the in-flight entertainment changed from Heathrow to Paris, and people were like, what's going on?
"The pilot said Heathrow had lost power - the only place we could divert was Paris.
"We had to circle Paris for a bit, and you could see other planes circling too.
"There's going to be some stories of people being messed up by this, so I won't complain. All I am is tired and cranky."
Passengers en route to Australia diverted to Paris... before taking buses back to London
Friday 21 March 2025 18:26 , Daniel KeanePassengers on board Qantas flights to Heathrow Airport from Singapore and Perth on Friday were diverted to Paris before taking buses to London, the airline said.
A Qantas spokesperson said: "Our Singapore-London and Perth-London services were diverted to Paris today, with buses arranged to take customers on to London.
"Our teams are working hard to support impacted customers and we thank them for their patience."
Heathrow closure is 'unprecedented situation', says Transport Secretary
Friday 21 March 2025 17:50 , Daniel KeaneThe closure of Heathrow due to a substation fire is an "absolutely unprecedented situation", Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said.
"This is an absolutely unprecedented situation.
"It's been a situation that has been outside of Heathrow's control.
"I certainly didn't expect to wake up this morning and see that huge fire happening."
She thanked the emergency services for their response and the National Grid for getting power restored to the airport, as well as staff at Heathrow who have "worked tirelessly all day to get to a point today where flights are able to land again and where the airport hopes to resume full operations tomorrow".
Asked what questions there are to answer about the incident, she said: "We need to understand what caused an incident of this magnitude at an electricity substation that is very close to a critical piece of national infrastructure."
She said she was in close contact with the Energy Secretary, the Home Secretary and with Heathrow to "make sure that any lessons we need to learn from the systems that the airport has in place are learned".
Heathrow boss apologises to passengers but defends response
Friday 21 March 2025 17:37 , Daniel KeaneHeathrow Airport's chief executive Thomas Woldbye has apologised to passengers disrupted by the closure of the airport, but defended its response.
He said "this is as big as it gets for our airport" and that "we cannot guard ourselves 100%".
No suggestion of foul play in fire that closed Heathrow, says minister
Friday 21 March 2025 17:20 , Daniel KeaneThere is no suggestion of foul play in the fire that caused Heathrow to close today, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said.
She said that counter terrorism police are involved in identifying the cause of the substation fire because it took place next to a critical piece of national infrastructure.
"The counter terrorism command has specific capabilities and capacities that mean that they are used to conducting investigations at pace, and it's really important that we identify the cause of this quickly.
"There are no suggestions at the moment of foul play, but you will appreciate the investigation, keeps an open mind, and our priority is identifying the cause as soon as possible."
In full: BA flights that will leave Heathrow tonight
Friday 21 March 2025 17:01 , Daniel KeaneBritish Airways say they have been given clearance for eight long-haul flights to depart from 7 pm on Friday.
In a statement, the airline said: "We are now urgently contacting customers to let them know so they can make their way to the airport from 5pm.
"The only customers who should make their way to Heathrow Airport are those booked onto the following flights."
The flights listed are:
BA055 to Johannesburg
BA057 to Johannesburg
BA011 to Singapore
BA259 to Riyadh
BA045 to Cape Town
BA059 to Cape Town
BA015 to Sydney via Singapore
BA249 to Buenos Aires via Rio de Janeiro
Heathrow Airport to resume some flights
Friday 21 March 2025 16:30 , Megan HoweIn an updated statement this afternoon, Heathrow Airport has said it is working with airlines to prioritise returning passengers to their home countries.
It is hoped the airport will be fully operational by tomorrow.
They said in a statement: “Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We’re pleased to say we’re now safely able to begin some flights later today.
“Our first flights will be repatriation flights and relocating aircraft. Please do not travel to the airport unless your airline has advised you to do so.
“We will now work with the airlines on repatriating the passengers who were diverted to other airports in Europe.
“We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly.
“Our priority remains the safety of our passengers and those working at the airport.
“As the busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow uses as much energy as a small city, therefore getting back to a full and safe operation takes time.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident.”
Worst disruption at Heathrow since 2010
Friday 21 March 2025 16:16 , Megan HoweThis is believed to be the worst disruption at Heathrow since December 2010, when thousands of Christmas getaway passengers camped in the terminals because of widespread cancellations caused by snow.
In April of that year, air travel was grounded across Europe because of an ash cloud caused by an Icelandic volcanic eruption.
On Friday, Gatwick airport accepted seven diverted flights from locations including Singapore, Johannesburg, Lagos, Cape Town and Doha which were originally destined for Heathrow.
Shannon airport in Co Clare accepted six diversions from Toronto, Atlanta, Bridgetown Barbados, Boston, Orlando and Newark.
Closure of Heathrow a 'massive dislocation to recover from' says aviation expert
Friday 21 March 2025 16:09 , Megan HoweAviation consultant John Strickland said the closure of Heathrow for an entire day is "a massive dislocation to have to recover from".
He added: "We're talking about several days worth of disruption to get the planes recovered and start using them again to move planned and disrupted passengers."
He likened the disruption to what happened after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, when flights were grounded across the US.
He said: "It's a contained version of 9/11."
Have you been affected by the Heathrow Airport closure?
Friday 21 March 2025 15:21 , Megan HoweIf your travel plans have been disrupted by Heathrow Airport’s closure today, please contact me at megan.howe@standard.co.uk.
Power appears to return to Heathrow airport but it remains closed
Friday 21 March 2025 15:01 , Megan HowePower appears to have returned to Heathrow airport but it remains closed after an outage caused by a fire.
National Grid said an "interim solution" has been found to allow power to be restored to the west London airport.
Reporters inside Terminal 4 on Friday afternoon said lights in the main building have switched back on and lifts in the multi-storey car park are operational again.
The airport announced early on Friday it would be closed until 11.59pm because of a fire at a nearby electrical substation.
Online flight tracking service Flightradar24 said more than 1,350 flights were scheduled to take off or land at the airport on Friday.
How are other airports and airlines helping disrupted Heathrow passengers?
Friday 21 March 2025 14:57 , Megan HoweAirports and airlines across the UK and Ireland have come to the aid of disrupted Heathrow passengers following its closure on Friday.
• British Airways advised customers not to travel to Heathrow on Friday "until further notice" as it had cancelled all short-haul flights serving the airport.
Passengers booked to fly to or from Heathrow with BA on Saturday or Sunday are being given the option to rebook to a later date for free.
• Ryanair said it is organising eight "rescue flights" between London Stansted and Ireland for passengers affected by the closure.
The cheapest one-way ticket from Stansted to Dublin on Friday and Saturday is priced at £132.99 on the Ryanair website. In contrast, the cheapest ticket for the same route with the airline the following Saturday (March 29) is priced at £14.99.
• EasyJet, which does not operate at Heathrow, said it will use larger than planned aircraft on key routes on Friday and over the weekend to accommodate disrupted passengers.
• Gatwick Airport will be accepting diverted flights as all flights between Dublin Airport and Heathrow on Friday have been cancelled due to the power outage.
• Birmingham Airport said it will receive any diverted flights from Heathrow and help to transport any stranded customers.
• Shannon Airport in Co Clare, Ireland, said at least six flights diverted from Heathrow would land at its airport on Friday.
• Manchester Airport said all flights to Heathrow had been cancelled on Friday but it had accepted "a small number of diversions" from the airport.
• London Stansted said the airport had capacity for "a small number of diverts" from Heathrow, but has not yet received any requests.
Amsterdam's Schipol airport in The Netherlands has so far seen seven flights arrive that were originally bound for west London, while Paris's Charles de Gaulle, Madrid's Barajas and Frankfurt airport in Germany have all accommodated six flights each, according to data published by Flightradar24.
Power restored to Heathrow on 'interim basis', says National Grid
Friday 21 March 2025 14:28 , Daniel KeaneThe National Grid has said that power has been restored to Heathrow on an "interim basis" after a fire last night shut the airport.
"The network has been reconfigured to restore all customers impacted, including the ability to resupply the parts of Heathrow airport that are connected to North Hyde," a National Grid spokesperson said.
"This is an interim solution while we carry out further work at North Hyde to return the substation and our network to normal operation."
Khan 'frustrated' over fire which shut down airport
Friday 21 March 2025 14:12 , Daniel KeaneMayor of London Sadiq Khan has expressed his "frustration" over the fire which shut down Heathrow.
He said: “I can just imagine people planning to go on honeymoon, people planning to go on a long-planned holiday, people maybe going to see a loved one, simply people wanting to return back to the UK after a journey overseas, maybe seeing an elderly relation or a sick relation.
"There'll be thousands and thousands of people incredibly inconvenienced because of Heathrow being closed for the day."
No clarity on when power may be restored, says Heathrow
Friday 21 March 2025 13:55 , Daniel KeaneHeathrow said it does not have "clarity on when power may be reliably restored".
A spokesperson said: "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.
"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."
Civil aviation authority 'in close contact' with Heathrow
Friday 21 March 2025 13:41 , Daniel KeaneThe Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) say they are in close contact with "Heathrow Airport, airlines and the Government" after the fire.
Selina Chadha, group director for consumers at the CAA, said: "Passengers are advised not to travel to Heathrow at this time and should contact their airlines for the latest flight updates.
"We appreciate the difficulties that travel disruption causes and we expect airlines to take all necessary steps to support and assist their passengers during this period of disruption.
"The Civil Aviation Authority remains in close contact with Heathrow Airport, airlines and the Government during this time."
'No reason to suspect foul play', says Sadiq Khan
Friday 21 March 2025 13:35 , Daniel KeaneMayor of London Sadiq Khan has said there is currently "no reason at all to suspect foul play" following the fire that has effectively shut Heathrow.
Mr Khan said: "This was declared a major incident last night, for obvious reasons - proximity to Heathrow Airport, and so forth.
"Clearly, because of the proximity of the substation to the airport, it's not a surprise that the counter terror team has been involved.
"The police service and fire brigade will make sure that the public know whether there's any information, to pass them to the public - but there's no reason at all to suspect foul play at the moment."
BA released updated statement for passengers
Friday 21 March 2025 13:25 , Daniel KeaneBritish Airways has released an updated statement on the disruption caused by the fire.
Passengers have been given the option to rebook their flights between now and the end of the weekend to a later date for free.
A spokesperson for BA said: “Due to a power outage in the London Heathrow area, London Heathrow Airport is currently closed.
“As a result, customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday 21 March are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice. We will be contacting those who are due to travel on Friday via email to advise them of their options.
“To offer our customers more certainty, we’re offering those booked to travel to or from Heathrow in the coming days (March 21 to March 23 inclusive) flexible options to rebook to a later date for free. Please visit Manage My Booking to see the options available.
“We kindly ask customers to contact us via phone only if they’re due to travel imminently, to allow us to help affected customers as quickly as possible.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and will provide more information as soon as we have further details.”
Pictured: Aerial view of burning substation
Friday 21 March 2025 13:09 , Josh Salisbury
Airport working 'tirelessly' to reopen, says minister
Friday 21 March 2025 13:01 , Josh SalisburyTransport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said she has spoken with Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye, and that the airport is working “tirelessly” to reopen.
She said: "This morning, I spoke with Heathrow airport's chief executive to hear the latest on the unprecedented power outage and I am reassured they're working tirelessly to reopen the airport as soon as possible.
"I would like to thank everyone involved in responding to this situation - particularly the emergency workers who have worked to contain the fire and keep everyone safe.
"I appreciate how disruptive this situation is for passengers, but until they hear otherwise the advice remains to avoid travelling to Heathrow."
No10 refuses to say whether airport will reopen by Saturday
Friday 21 March 2025 12:34 , Josh SalisburyDowning Street says it cannot say whether Heathrow Airport will be fully reopened by Saturday.
Asked whether this would be the case, a No 10 spokesman said: "Well, it's clearly a fast-moving situation."
He added: "The fire is still burning and I'm aware that the airport has announced a complete closure until midnight tonight as a result of the situation.
"It will be for emergency services and Heathrow to update on timescales for when this situation will be resolved.
“We do expect there will be significant direct disruption in the hours and days ahead."
'I heard huge bang', says evacuated resident
Friday 21 March 2025 12:33 , Josh SalisburyA woman who was evacuated from her home near the North Hyde electricity substation has said she heard a "huge bang" just before she went to bed.
Vanica Sinclair, 63, said she did not sleep all night as police asked residents to evacuate their homes after the substation caught fire and she waited hours before she was granted a room at a nearby Premier Inn.
Ms Sinclair said: "Half eleven, I was about to go to bed.
"And then there was a huge bang, and the house just shook.
"I quickly opened the front door to see, because I thought maybe a car had crashed into a wall or something, I don't know. Because it's a quiet road.
"And I looked out and all of a sudden there were all these flames over there. I'm thinking, 'oh my god, what's that?"'
Many diverted flights unable to land in other UK airports
Friday 21 March 2025 12:17 , Josh SalisburyDiverted flights are unable to land at other UK airports because they are at capacity, the air traffic control body Nats has said.
Instead, many have been forced to land in northern Europe or to simply return to their departure location.
"There was limited capacity at other UK airports to accommodate diversions, particularly of wide-bodied aircraft,” it said.
“We have been communicating [this] with our airline customers, and [it] has resulted in many flights diverting to northern Europe.”
"Scheduled flights to other UK airports are unaffected."
Ex-BA boss criticises Heathrow for 'failure' to plan for power outage
Friday 21 March 2025 12:14 , Josh SalisburyThe ex-chief of British Airways has criticised Heathrow Airport, alleging it failed to properly plan for the consequences of a serious power outage.
Willie Walsh, who is now head of the International Air Transport Association trade body, said Heathrow had let down both travellers and airlines.
“And that begs some serious questions. Firstly, how is it that critical infrastructure—of national and global importance—is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative,” he asked.
“If that is the case—as it seems—then it is a clear planning failure by the airport.”
Seven flights diverted from Heathrow to Gatwick
Friday 21 March 2025 12:07Seven flights diverted from Heathrow will land at London Gatwick on Friday, the airport has said.
A London Gatwick spokesperson said: "We are aware of the situation at Heathrow Airport today and we are supporting by accepting diverted flights as required.
"Flights are operating from London Gatwick as normal today."
Counter-terror police leading fire probe, Met confirms
Friday 21 March 2025 12:00 , Josh SalisburyThe Met has confirmed counter-terror police are leading the investigation into the Hayes substation fire which knocked out power to Heathrow.
A spokesperson said there was "no indication of foul play" but detectives "retain an open mind" over the cause.
"We are working with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation,” the force said.
“While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time.
"Given the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met's Counter Terrorism Command is now leading enquiries.
"This is due to the specialist resources and capabilities within that command that can assist in progressing this investigation at pace to minimise disruption and identify the cause."
National Express suspends all Heathrow travel
Friday 21 March 2025 11:52 , Josh SalisburyNational Express has suspended all services to and from Heathrow until midnight because of the blaze.
It said: “Customers are advised not to travel to the airport today. Services to London Gatwick airport, London Stansted airport and London Luton airport will operate as normal.
“National Express is proactively contacting customers who have already booked to travel to London Heathrow airport today and is offering free amendments for those who are affected.”
Fire expected to continue 'for some time'
Friday 21 March 2025 11:45 , Josh SalisburyThe fire at Hayes substation is expected to continue for some time, the London Fire Brigade has said.
Around ten per cent of the substation remains alight, with 25,000 litres of cooling oil set ablaze. However, firefighters say the fire is under control.
The brigade’s deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said there were no issues with air quality around the scene because a “foam blanket” had been used to cover the smouldering oil.
He added: "This is one of those types of fire that burns for a significant period of time."
The deputy commissioner said the fire service did not anticipate any further safety issues for members of the public.
Nearly 200 evacuated after fire
Friday 21 March 2025 11:35 , Josh SalisburyNearly 200 people were evacuated from properties surrounding the Hayes substation after the fire, which knocked out power to Heathrow.
London Fire Brigade deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said 29 people were evacuated from properties near to the substation itself.
A further 150 people were evacuated to a rest centre following the incident.
Fire safety and fire investigation officers are working with scientific advisers and the Metropolitan Police to investigate the cause of the fire, Mr Smith told broadcasters.
He added: "I would like to conclude by taking this opportunity to thank firefighters and control officers for their courage and professionalism to bring this incident under control, in what were very challenging circumstances."
PM thanks emergency services tackling blaze
Friday 21 March 2025 11:26 , Josh SalisburyPrime Minster Sir Keir Starmer has thanked emergency services tackling the blaze, saying he is receiving regular updates.
Sir Keir said: "I know the situation in Heathrow is causing distress and disruption, especially for those travelling or without power in their homes.
"I'm receiving regular updates and I'm in close contact with partners on the ground.
"Thanks to our emergency workers for keeping people safe."
25,000 litres of oil were alight after blaze - fire officials
Friday 21 March 2025 11:24 , Josh SalisburyThe substation fire in Hayes which knocked out power to Heathrow involved 25,000 litres of cooling oil fully alight, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said.
Speaking to broadcasters at the scene in Hayes, London Fire Brigade deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said the brigade recieved more than 200 calls to the fire.
"The fire involved a transformer comprising of 25,000 litres of cooling oil fully alight,” he said.
“This created a major hazard due to the still live high-voltage equipment and the nature of the oil-fuelled fire."
The Metropolitan Police declared a major incident for the fire at 12.42am on Friday, Mr Smith said.
Around 10% of the substation remains alight.
Some 67,000 households were left without power due to the incident and 5,000 homes remain without power.
There is also no power at Heathrow Airport terminals two or four, Mr Smith said.
'Strange' Heathrow did not have back-up power, says expert
Friday 21 March 2025 11:22 , Josh SalisburyIt is “strange” that Heathrow did not have alternative power supplies to enable it to continue operating after the substation fire, an expert has told the Standard.
Speaking on our Tech and Science Daily podcast, Mark Coles, Head of Technical Regulations at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, said it would be standard to have backup electricity generation.
“Is it surprising that there's just this, that the fire at just one substation has knocked out Heathrow?” he said.
“Would it not be taking power from lots of different sources? You'd certainly expect that.
“Even if they had one source of supply going in onto a particular site, on site you'd expect them to have backup generation, uninterruptible power supplies, methods of switching over to alternative sources, because it does seem like a strange incident that one particular problem can shoot a whole site down.”
Ministers earlier said that the substation fire also took down a backup generator used by the airport, but that they were working on a second back-up method to restore power.
Unclear how quickly flights can resume once airport reopens
Friday 21 March 2025 11:16 , Josh SalisburyIt is unclear how quickly flights will resume at Heathrow once it reopens.
Heathrow is closed until at least 11.59pm, but the Government restricts the number of flights that are allowed to take off or land at the airport between 11.30pm and 6am each day.
The airport's website states: "Sometimes planes need to operate in the night period when they have not been scheduled to do so.
"This could be for a number of reasons such as delays that have built up during the day or for a technical fault with an aircraft that needs to be repaired.
"There is always a delicate balance to be struck as to whether a flight should be allowed at night, considering the effects on local communities, passengers and the airline network."
Six schools forced to close due to substation fire
Friday 21 March 2025 11:11 , Josh SalisburySix local schools have been closed following the substation fire in Hayes, Hillingdon Council said.
An update on the council's website said that Nestles Avenue Early Years Centre, Pinkwell Children's Centre, Pinkwell Primary School, Botwell House Catholic Primary School, Dr Triplett's C of E Primary School and The Global Academy were all shut.
The M4 is closed between junction three and four while local bus services are subject to diversions and cancellations, it added.
Full list of cancelled flights at Heathrow
Friday 21 March 2025 11:10 , Josh SalisburyMore than 600 flights were due to land at Heathrow on Friday - carrying up to 145,000 people.
Worst affected is British Airways, which had been due to operate 341 flights with 67,962 seats.
This is followed by Virgin Atlantic’s 31 flights, 9,058 seats, and Lufthansa’s 21 flights, the equivalent of 3,780 seats.
For a full list of cancelled flights, visit here.
Passengers travel to closed airport 'after being told flights still going ahead'
Friday 21 March 2025 11:05 , Josh SalisburySome passengers have continued to travel to Heathrow Airport despite warnings to stay away after being wrongly told their flights are still scheduled to go ahead.
One, Elvina Quaison who was hoping to fly from Heathrow to Dubai on Friday afternoon, said she was told by British Airways her flight was still going ahead.
Ms Quaison, who lives in London, said: “I did see on the news everything that had happened and the airport was closed. I'm flying out to Dubai today.
"My flight's meant to be at 12.40pm and I'd been checking the news, the websites and my emails. I'm flying with BA and they had said that we should keep an eye on our 'manage my booking' and it would give us an update as to what was happening with my flight.
"So I got a message (at 8am) to say that my flight was departing and that I can go ahead as normal.
"So I've come to the airport to make the flight which I was told was flying today and I can't get to the actual airport ... I'm just about to call to see what to do."
Counter-terror police investigating substation fire
Friday 21 March 2025 10:57Counter-terror police are investigating the blaze at the substation which closed Heathrow Airport and sparked global travel chaos.
Counter-terror detectives will be part of a team which will investigate because of their expertise and to rule out whether sabotage played a part.
This is believed to be a precautionary measure rather than an indication of foul play.
Earlier, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said ministers did not yet know the cause of the fire, but also added that there was no suggestion so far of foul play causing the blaze.
Khan: Heathrow travel chaos 'hugely frustrating'
Friday 21 March 2025 10:46 , Josh SalisburyMayor of London Sadiq Khan has described the Heathrow travel chaos as “hugely frustrating” but praised the firefighters who tackled the blaze at the Nestles Avenue substation.
“I know this will be hugely frustrating for the many thousands expecting to travel to and from Heathrow today, the families who have had their power cut and the commuters who have had their journeys disrupted,” he said.
“I’d like to thank the emergency services who have been working hard overnight to tackle the fire and I remain in close contact with them, as I have been overnight. Thankfully, there are no reports of any injuries.
“Electricity suppliers are working hard to restore power, but Heathrow Airport have said they will be closed all day and has warned of significant disruption over the coming days.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport under any circumstances and I urge Londoners to follow the advice of emergency services and their travel providers.”
Travel chaos will take days to subside, say experts
Friday 21 March 2025 10:35 , Josh SalisburyThe knock-on effect from Heathrow’s closure will last for days, travel experts have warned.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of independent travel agents, said it would have a “very significant” knock on effect over the next few days.
"Of course, the priority for everyone is safety and the airport and the airlines will be working hard today to make sure the area is safe, and that they can resume operations as soon as possible,” she said.
"Friday is typically the busiest day for travel, with people returning from business trips, going on holiday or visiting friends and family.
"London airports would have been busy today already and this incident will exacerbate it further.”
Hotels 'inflating prices' during Heathrow travel chaos
Friday 21 March 2025 10:27 , Josh SalisburyA video producer has accused hotels of increasing their prices amid the Heathrow closure following a fire, which he described as “absolutely absurd”.
Louis, who did not wish to share his surname, was due to fly home to Dublin with Aer Lingus just before 9am on Friday, but said his flight was cancelled following the London Heathrow closure affecting more than 1,300 flights.
The 28-year-old stayed the night at a hotel just “500 metres from Terminals 2 and 3”, but was forced to book a new room at a different hotel over fears his rescheduled flight for Saturday could be cancelled again, and has accused nearby hotels of increasing its prices amid the disruption.
“They’ve actually doubled, if not, in some cases, tripled the prices of the rooms based on what’s going on, which is absolutely absurd. They’re profiting off of people’s misfortunes in this. I don’t know how that’s allowed,” Louis said.
He said his original room cost around £90, but claimed he saw the same room on the hotel comparison site Booking.com for £280.
“It’s frustrating, but it’s just beyond control,” he said.
Pictured: Passengers stranded outside shuttered Heathrow
Friday 21 March 2025 10:16 , Josh Salisbury
Passenger tells of confusion as flight not listed as cancelled at closed Heathrow
Friday 21 March 2025 09:55 , Josh SalisburyA passenger who was expecting to fly to Miami for his son's first day at university has said instructions on Heathrow Airport's website were "confusing".
The man, who only shared his first name Ooso, had gone on foot with his suitcase from the roundabout outside Terminal 5 to the airport, only to be told he could not enter.
He said as he walked back towards the roundabout: "The website shows 'flight on time'.
"They only have a message not to come here, but to check updates.
"Updates are showing 'flight on time', but nobody is allowed to go in. So, it's so confusing."
Speaking about his son, whom he said is to begin a semester at Miami University, Ooso said: "He is to enrol on Monday."
He added: "We would not have come had the website said, 'flight cancelled'."
I saw bright flash before explosive fire, says witness
Friday 21 March 2025 09:31 , Josh SalisburyA local resident said a "bright flash of white" from the electrical substation fire in Hayes preceded an immediate power cut across the area.
Mathew Muirhead was working a night shift on Thursday when he noticed smoke rising from the electrical substation.
"We were stood outside our branch in Hayes and my colleague noticed smoke coming over the trees," the 42-year-old told PA.
"It was 23.30 when we saw it, we were heading to West Drayton, so we went to check it out, we heard the sirens as we were headed to Bulls Bridge roundabout.
"We saw a bright flash of white and all the lights in town went out.
"My wife rang me and told me our electric was out - I found out a few hours later that Heathrow was completely shut down."
Passengers vent frustration at flight cancellations
Friday 21 March 2025 09:20 , Josh SalisburyPassengers have vented their frustrations after travelling to Heathrow only to find it closed and their flights cancelled.
Andrew Sri, his wife and their three young children had travelled to England from Dallas, Texas, to visit Andrew's sister Andrea, who lives in Greenwich, east London.
They were meant to catch their return flight to Dallas on Friday but were told on arrival at Heathrow that the airport was closed.
"I just wish they had updated us accordingly," Mr Sri said as he and his family found themselves at a standstill on the terminal's roundabout, waiting for updates.
"At the moment, the schedule on our flight says it's delayed, so that's why we drove out. So now we've got here and they told us, actually the airport's been shut down, so it's a little bit disappointing."
Pictured: Heathrow empty as fire forces closure
Friday 21 March 2025 09:15 , Josh Salisbury
Fire shows need to tighten up vulnerabilities at Heathrow - minister
Friday 21 March 2025 09:13The closure of Heathrow as a result of a fire at a nearby substation makes the airport look "quite vulnerable", a Cabinet minister has suggested.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was asked on Good Morning Britain whether he thinks there should be more airports given people have found themselves stranded.
Mr Miliband said: "What it makes me believe is we've got to understand why this happened, and we've got to work out what the lessons are for the resilience of our infrastructure."
He added that National Grid told him they had not seen "anything like the scale" of what happened with the "seriousness" of the fire.
British Airways has warned its customers of significant delays to its operations today due to Heathrow’s closure.
Many of the airline’s long-haul services depart from Heathrow.
“Due to a power outage in the London Heathrow area, London Heathrow Airport is currently closed,” the company said in a statement.
“As a result, customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice.
“This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond.”
Ryanair to operate eight 'rescue' flights for stranded Heathrow passengers
Friday 21 March 2025 08:53 , Josh SalisburyRyanair will run eight addition flights between Dublin and London Stansted to help those whose flights diverted to Ireland from Heathrow.
The airline said it would run four additional flights on Friday and four on Saturday to rescue passengers affected by today’s Heathrow closure.
Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (21 Mar) added up to 8 rescue flights between Dublin and London Stansted, 4 on Friday and 4 on Saturday to rescue passengers affected by today’s Heathrow closure.
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) March 21, 2025
Ryanair will operate 4 extra flights between Dublin and Stansted on Friday…
Heathrow fire 'unprecedented', says Miliband
Friday 21 March 2025 08:42 , Josh SalisburyEd Miliband has described a fire at an electrical substation which led to the closure of Heathrow as "an unprecedented event".
The Energy Secretary told the BBC that "we will have to look hard" at "resilience" for major institutions such as the airport.
He told Radio 4's Today programme: "There's obviously been a catastrophic fire at this substation, an unprecedented event actually in their experience.
"It appears to have knocked out a back-up generator as well as the substation itself. What I know is that they are working as hard as they can to restore power as well as the fire being put out.
"It's too early to say what caused this but I think obviously we will have to look hard at the causes and also the protection and the resilience that is in place for major institutions like Heathrow.”
Fire to cost aviation industry 'millions'
Friday 21 March 2025 08:33 , Josh SalisburyHeathrow's closure will cost the aviation industry millions of pounds, experts have estimated.
Consultant John Strickland said: "It will run into millions. You can't quantify it yet.
"Heathrow has normally about 200,000 passengers a day, so it's a massive impact in lost revenues and disruption costs, primarily for the airlines (because of) all the follow-on costs involved in putting people in hotels, refunds, re-bookings etc."
Mr Strickland said it is "unlikely" that airlines will be able to recoup their losses.
He added: "The substation is nothing to do with the airport.
"I'm sure in the fullness of time, when the dust has settled, there'll be efforts made to claim something from somebody, I couldn't really be more precise, whether it's the electricity provider."
Schools may have to close due to power outage
Friday 21 March 2025 08:32 , Josh SalisburyHillingdon Council said on Friday morning that most evacuees have dispersed and made their own arrangements.
They said the council is assisting 12 people with hotel accommodation until it is safe to return home.
Schools may need to close on Friday, the council said, confirming that Nestles Avenue Early Years Centre is without power and will remain shut for the day.
Watch: Flames tower above Hayes electricity substation
Friday 21 March 2025 08:29 , Josh SalisburyDramatic footage has been posted on social media showing huge flames bursting from the west London electricity substation as the fire forced Heathrow to shut.
Huge plumes of smoke can be seen pouring from the facility in Hayes, Hillingdon.
Video emerged of car passengers filming the blaze on their phones as drivers slow down to watch the fire, which sent flames towering over the facility.
Fire at substation 'brought under control'
Friday 21 March 2025 08:17 , Josh SalisburyThe fire at an electrical substation which led to the closure of Heathrow Airport is now under control, the London Fire Brigade has said.
Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said: "This was a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible.
"Thanks to their efforts and co-ordinated multi-agency response, we successfully contained the fire and prevented further spread.
"We will maintain a presence at the scene throughout the day, assisting the National Grid as they assess the site.
"The fire has caused a widespread power outage, affecting many homes, local businesses and Heathrow Airport.
“While power has been restored to some properties, we continue to work closely with our partners to minimise disruption.”
Pictured: The blaze which closed Heathrow
Friday 21 March 2025 08:07 , Josh Salisbury
Affected passengers entitled to assistance from airline - but not compensation
Friday 21 March 2025 08:04 , Josh SalisburyRory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said passengers affected by Heathrow’s closure are entitled to assistance from their airline.
He said: “Don’t attempt to travel to the airport, but instead keep in touch with your airline for their advice.
“If your flight is cancelled you won’t be entitled to compensation as these events will be considered an extraordinary circumstance, but you will be entitled to assistance from your airline, including overnight accommodation if needed.”
This includes the choice of being rerouted or accepting a refund, with airlines required to find a flight as soon as possible if passengers take the first option.
“If you instead accept a refund, be aware that your airline will have no further duty of care to you and you’ll need to make your own arrangements,” Mr Boland added.
“It’s also worth checking the terms of your travel insurance to see if you are able to recoup any other expenses you may have incurred as a result of this incident, such as car hire or airport parking fees.”
100,000 homes initially without power due to fire
Friday 21 March 2025 07:59 , Josh SalisburySome 100,000 homes were without power overnight as a result of the fire near Heathrow Airport, Ed Miliband said, adding this had now been brought down to 4,000.
The Energy Secretary told BBC Breakfast: “My understanding from the grid is 100,000 homes were without power as a result of this fire overnight.
“The figure they gave to me a short time ago was that that’s down now to 4,000.
“But, obviously, this is a fast-moving situation and we will be doing everything we can to work with grid on the work they’re doing to restore power.”
200,000 passengers hit by Heathrow closure
Friday 21 March 2025 07:45 , Josh SalisburyAround 200,000 passengers will be hit with disruption due to Heathrow’s closure, according to estimates.
Online flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said the closure would affect more than 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow.
This includes 679 scheduled to land and 678 due to take off from the airport.
This equates to around 200,000 passengers.
Heathrow substation fire 'catastrophic', says energy minister
Friday 21 March 2025 07:37 , Josh SalisburyThe fire at a sub-station near Heathrow Airport was described as "catastrophic", the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said.
He told Sky News the Government will be doing everything it can to restore power to the airport.
Mr Miliband was asked whether a Cobra meeting of senior ministers would be convened to address the matter.
He replied: "I'm sure the Government will be convening in the most appropriate way.
"I'm not going to anticipate the precise form of that, but I'm already in touch with my colleagues on this issue.
"As I say, I've spoken to the National Grid, who are really at the epicentre of this, and we will be doing everything we can, both to restore power and help the National Grid.”
'Speculative' to suggest fire which shuttered Heathrow was deliberate, says MP
Friday 21 March 2025 07:30 , Josh SalisburyIt is “speculative” to suggest at the moment that something sinister caused the fire which has grounded flights at Heathrow, the chairwoman of the Commons transport committee has said.
Asked by Times Radio if she thought the fire at an electricity substation may have been caused intentionally, Labour MP Ruth Cadbury replied: “I think that’s somewhat speculative.
“There are obviously questions about it, and I don’t know enough about electricity, but for the airport to be dependent on one substation, it does raise questions.”
She added it was “very, very concerning” that “one substation can close down an airport and there isn’t an alternative source of energy”.
Flights likely to be diverted out of UK as British airports 'saturated'
Friday 21 March 2025 07:18 , Josh SalisburyFlights which had been due to land at Heathrow are likely to be forced to divert out of the UK, due to a lack of capacity at other British airports.
In a bulletin, Eurocontrol, the air traffic control organisation for Europe, warned airlines British airports were already “saturated”.
“Diversion capacity is saturated within the UK, and operators should plan diversions outside of the UK,” they said.
“Please be aware that some European airports are now reporting limited diversion capacity especially for wide-body aircraft.
“Scheduled flights to other airports are not affected, however should plan to divert outside UK.”
Some flights diverted to Ireland
Friday 21 March 2025 07:02 , Josh SalisburyAt least six flights diverted from Heathrow will land at Shannon Airport in Ireland on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Shannon Airport Group said: "We are closely monitoring the situation at Heathrow Airport and are providing support by accommodating diverted flights as needed and our team is on-site to assist with the additional passengers.
"So far, Shannon Airport has facilitated six diverted flights originally scheduled to land at Heathrow, including flights from Toronto, Atlanta, Bridgetown Barbados, Boston, Orlando and Newark.
"The first of these flights landed safely at 4.26am this morning."
Power company aims to restore supply 'by 3pm'
Friday 21 March 2025 06:57According to the power company's website, authorities are aiming to restore power by 3pm on Friday.
Firefighters have described the blaze as “highly visible and significant”.
Assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne, of the London Fire Brigade, said: "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."
Firefighters led 29 people from surrounding properties to safety earlier this morning, while around 150 homes have been evacuated.
Power disrupted to more than 16,000 homes as well as airport
Friday 21 March 2025 06:49 , Josh SalisburyAlongside the closure of Heathrow Airport, the fire at the electrical substation has hit power supplies to more than 16,300 homes in Hayes, Hounslow and the surrounding areas.
Some 150 people have been evacuated from surrounding properties and a 200-metre cordon has been put in place as a precaution.
A National Grid spokesperson said the fire had damaged equipment and they "working at speed to restore power supplies as quickly as possible".
London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were still on the scene at Nestles Avenue in Hayes with part of a transformer still alight.
Disruption could last for days, warms airport
Friday 21 March 2025 06:43The disruption could last for several days, the airport has warned, which says it has no choice but to close all day due to the power outage.
A spokesperson said: “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.
“We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.”
At least 1,300 flights set to be disrupted
Friday 21 March 2025 06:36 , Josh SalisburyMore than 1,300 flights to and from Heathrow Airport will be disrupted on Friday due to the closure of the airport following a fire at a nearby electrical substation.
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 in west London.
The airport, which is supplied by the substation, said it was among those impacted by the power outage.
Online flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said the closure would affect at least 1,351 flights to and from Heathrow.
It said 120 flights to the airport were in the air when the closure was announced.
