Chaos In The Skies After “Explosion” Closes Down Heathrow Airport, Diverts Thousands Of Flights

21 Mar 2025, 03:29 by Binitha Jacob, Karina Babenok · Bored Panda

A massive fire has disrupted operations at London’s Heathrow Airport, affecting more than 1,300 flights.

The airport, one of the busiest in the world, will be closed on Friday due to a fire at a nearby electricity substation, leading to a massive power outage.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

Operations at Heathrow Airport were disrupted after a massive fire at a nearby electricity substation

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Highlights

Operations at Heathrow Airport were disrupted after a massive fire took place at a nearby electricity substation.
The London Fire Brigade said they received around 200 calls about a large explosion.
Some flights that took off from parts of the US turned around midair and landed back where they departed from.
“It is absolute chaos,” a social media user said.

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The closure of the major travel destination is expected to have global impact.

At least 120 flights in the air heading to Heathrow were diverted to other airports, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

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Some 1,351 flights due to land and take off at Heathrow to other parts of the world were affected on Friday.

“That doesn’t include any flights that might be canceled or delayed due to aircraft being out of position,” FlightRadar24 said.

Some 1,351 flights due to land and take off at the airport, one of the busiest in the world, have been affected

Ian Petchenik, spokesman for FlightRadar24, said, “This is going to disrupt airlines’ operations around the world” as Heathrow “is one of the major hubs of the world.”

It is believed the fire in Hayes, West London, started at an electrical substation that supplies power to the major aviation hub.

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The London Fire Brigade said nearly 200 locals made calls to raise the alarm about a large explosion around 11:23 p.m. on Thursday night.

Heathrow Airport warned passengers to “expect significant disruption over the coming days” and passengers should not travel to the airport “under any circumstances until the airport reopens.”

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British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights were diverted to the Gatwick Airport nearby.

Some flights that took off from parts of the US turned around midair and landed back where they departed from.

Flights from the US turned around midair and landed back at the airport they took off from

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British Airways acknowledged the situation, as the airline had 341 flights scheduled to land at the affected airport Friday.

“This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers, and we are working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond,” the carrier said.

Aside from the British airport, the fire in Hayes has also caused massive disruption on the ground, with the power outage impacting over 16,000 homes.

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“A fire at North Hyde substation in West London has damaged equipment, leading to a loss of power supply in the area,” National Grid UK said in a statement.

“We are working at speed to restore power supplies as quickly as possible and will provide an update as soon as we can,” added the UK’s electricity and gas transmission network.

“It is absolute chaos,” a social media user said about the situation

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People Also Ask

Why is Heathrow considered a major global travel hub?
Heathrow is one of the most well-connected airports in the world, connecting passengers to more than 200 destinations in 85+ countries. It serves as a key link between Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East, with hundreds of transatlantic and international flights daily.
How busy is Heathrow Airport?
At least one plane takes off from or lands at Heathrow Airport every 45 seconds. The airport handled approximately 79.2 million passengers in 2023, up from 61.6 million recorded in the previous year. The upward trend continued in 2024 as the airport handled 83.9 million passengers.

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Chaos In The Skies After “Explosion” Closes Down Heathrow Airport, Diverts Thousands Of Flights

Operations at Heathrow Airport were disrupted after a massive fire at a nearby electricity substation

Some 1,351 flights due to land and take off at the airport, one of the busiest in the world, have been affected

Flights from the US turned around midair and landed back at the airport they took off from

“It is absolute chaos,” a social media user said about the situation

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