Heathrow Airport, the busiest aviation hub in the United Kingdom and Europe’s fourth-busiest by passenger volume, has suspended all operations for the entire day following a massive power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation in Hayes, just north of the airport.
The incident, which began overnight, triggered an immediate emergency response and widespread travel disruption. London Fire Brigade confirmed that multiple teams are still working to extinguish the fire.
Heathrow officials issued a statement early Friday advising all passengers not to travel to the airport “under any circumstances” as the disruption is expected to continue over the coming days.
The fire has severely impacted the airport’s ability to manage its daily average of 1,400 flights and over 200,000 passengers. As of Friday morning, hundreds of flights had been grounded, and many inbound aircraft en route to Heathrow were either diverted or forced to return to their departure points.
Affected airlines include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Lufthansa, Delta Air Lines, Qantas, and American Airlines.
“This is a major operational failure,” a Heathrow spokesperson said. “We are working closely with emergency services and utility providers, but the safety of our passengers and staff remains our priority.”
British Airways, whose main operations base is at Heathrow, confirmed the outage had “a significant impact” on its schedule, affecting more than 670 of its flights. Virgin Atlantic canceled all inbound and outbound flights until midday, with updates pending for the remainder of the day.
The fire has effectively paralyzed the UK’s principal aviation gateway, which serves as a key trans-Atlantic connection and major hub for routes into Asia and the Middle East. Although other London-area airports such as Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted remain operational, they lack the capacity to fully absorb Heathrow’s traffic.
“This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night,” said London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne. “As we head into the morning, disruption is expected to increase.”
Footage shared on social media showed a large blaze lighting up the night sky, with residents within a two-mile radius reportedly evacuated as a precaution.
Emergency teams from the UK Power Networks are working to stabilize the power grid, but officials have not given a timeline for full restoration.
Heathrow, which ranked as the world’s fourth-busiest airport in 2024 based on scheduled seats, is a central hub for International Consolidated Airlines Group SA’s British Airways and a primary European gateway for Dubai-based Emirates.
The full-day shutdown is expected to have ripple effects across the global travel network, with aircraft and crews now out of position for future flights.
Etihad Airways, which had a flight en route to Heathrow from Abu Dhabi, confirmed the aircraft had been rerouted to Frankfurt due to the airport closure.
Airlines and industry observers have begun assessing the potential financial implications of the outage. For Heathrow’s largest carriers, the disruption poses not only operational costs but also reputational risks as stranded passengers and delayed cargo deliveries begin to pile up.
In recent history, full-day airport closures of this magnitude have been extremely rare in the UK. While weather-related or air traffic control disruptions have occurred, Friday’s incident marks one of the most severe infrastructure-related failures the airport has experienced.
Authorities are urging passengers to check directly with their airlines before heading to any airport in the region. Heathrow management said updates will be provided as power is restored and operations can safely resume.
