(DailyEmailNews.com) – A major electrical substation fire knocked out power across Europe’s busiest travel hub, London’s Heathrow Airpor, causing a power outage and throwing tens of thousands of travel plans into disarray.
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Nearly 300,000 travelers were stranded after over 1,350 flights were canceled, leaving authorities scrambling to manage the chaos while counterterrorism police quietly began investigating the incident.
Officials at Heathrow made the unprecedented decision to close the entire airport for at least 24 hours following the early morning fire at a nearby electrical substation.
The blaze, which involved a transformer containing 25,000 liters of cooling oil, required 70 firefighters and 10 engines to bring under control.
A spokesperson for the airport declared:
“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 made the decision to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025.”
The massive disruption affected approximately 291,000 passengers who were scheduled to travel on 1,351 flights on Friday alone.
British Airways was hit hardest, with more than half of its flights canceled, while United Airlines, Delta, and Lufthansa also scrambled to reroute or cancel flights.
When the closure was announced, about 120 planes were already en route to Heathrow, forcing them to divert to other airports.
Despite official claims of an accident, counterterrorism police have been deployed to investigate.
“While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time,” the Metropolitan Police stated.
Moreover, the UK government appears to be demanding answers about how a single fire could cripple one of the world’s most important airports.
“There are questions to answer,” the prime minister’s spokesman acknowledged, adding firmly that “we expect those questions to be answered.”
Beyond the immediate travel chaos, the incident exposed Britain’s critical infrastructure weaknesses.
The International Air Transport Association has already called for a complete review of Heathrow’s infrastructure resilience, highlighting that a single point of failure should not be able to shut down an entire international airport.
The financial impact is expected to be staggering—between £20m and £30m ($26-39 million) even if flights resume within 48 hours.
Meanwhile, thousands of American travelers have been stranded, and hotel rooms around the airport are quickly filling capacity.
“We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” Heathrow officials warned.
Although authorities work to restore power “in hours,” according to a National Grid source, the incident raises troubling questions about vulnerability and preparedness.
Ultimately, the massive disruption strikes another blow to international travel, which has already faced years of post-pandemic challenges.
It comes as many American families were planning spring break travel to Europe. For now, thousands wait in crowded airport terminals worldwide, concerned about their journeys.
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