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Fire Knocks Out Power at Heathrow Airport, Stranding 200,000 Passengers

*London, March 21, 2025* – A fire at an electrical substation near London’s Heathrow Airport knocked out power to the busy airport for nearly 18 hours, leading to widespread flight cancellations, reroutings, and chaos for passengers. The fire, which broke out shortly before midnight on Thursday at the North Hyde electrical substation, severely disrupted operations at Europe’s busiest airport, stranding an estimated 200,000 passengers.

The fire took around seven hours to control, with firefighters working tirelessly to contain the blaze. Initial investigations have ruled out suspicious circumstances, with authorities focusing on electrical distribution equipment as the likely cause.

The outage affected around 1,350 flights, with some planes in the air forced to divert to other airports like Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, and Shannon in Ireland. The disruption was so severe that it is expected to last for several days, as airlines attempt to reposition crews and planes, while passengers scramble to rebook flights.

By Friday evening, power was restored, and Heathrow began a partial resumption of flights. British Airways was among the first to restart operations, with flights to Riyadh and other destinations departing as scheduled. The airport hopes to return to a full schedule by Saturday, though the backlog of disrupted flights and the extensive rebooking required means the recovery will take time.

Local residents described the initial stages of the fire as a dramatic event, with a large explosion and a fireball lighting up the sky. The fire also caused a temporary power outage affecting thousands of homes in the surrounding areas. Many passengers, like Lawrence Hayes, found themselves diverted to distant airports and faced long, tiring travel days to finally reach their destinations.

Heathrow’s closure prompted criticism over the UK’s readiness for such disasters, with some questioning whether enough contingency plans were in place. Airport authorities responded by stating that the scale of the incident was unprecedented and beyond the scope of typical backup systems. A full investigation into the event will be conducted to ensure future preparedness.

The incident serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of critical national infrastructure and the potential for widespread disruption when key services like airport operations are compromised.

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