Heathrow airport in London, causing chaos on one of the busiest air terminals in the world.
Friday’s closure was caused by a fire in an electrical substation in the city of Hayes, just a few kilometers from the airport, which interrupted local energy supply. The occurrence caused changes on more than 1,000 flights and forced pilots to divert routes.
More than 145,000 passengers may be affected by closing, which authorities warned that it can become “significant interruption” in the coming days.
The aircraft that would land in Heathrow departed from cities around the world, including Sydney, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Johanesburg, New York and Miami.
“We expect a significant interruption in the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until it reopens,” Heathrow airport directed in a statement to a statement to CNNadding that “they are not clear about when energy can be reliably restored.”
Authorities have started an investigation into the cause of the fire in the substation, which is still underway, but is now under control. So far, there are no signs of crime, according to police.
What happened
A transformer in an electrical substation in the suburb of Hayes in London caught fire on the night of last Thursday (21), according to the Fire Department.
Ten trucks and about 70 firefighters were mobilized to combat the fire, says the corporation. A 200 meter isolation cord was installed around the site.
“The fire in Hayes is now under control, but we will remain on site all day,” said the Fire Department in an X update.
“In the latest update I received, approximately 10% remains lit,” said the deputy compensation of the London Fire Department. Jonathan Smith at a news conference on Friday morning.
“The fire involved a transformer containing 25,000 liters of cooling oil, fully lit. This has created a great risk due to the still active high voltage equipment and the nature of fuel oil fire,” added Smith.
About 150 people were evacuated from the neighborhood, said the brigade. More than 16,000 homes have been left without power, according to public service provider Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks-with the National Great Grid “working at high speed” to restore energy.
There is no confirmation of wounded.
“As we advance in the morning, the interruption is expected to increase, and we ask people to avoid the area whenever possible,” said Fire Department assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne in a statement.
A note to CNNthe airport said: “We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to ensure that we are working as much as possible to solve the situation.”
Videos published on social networks show much of the airport in the dark. Terminals 2 and 4 are still without power, according to firefighters.
How the fire started
Investigations on how the fire began are underway and London’s anti -terrorism police are leading the case, “given the impact this incident had on the critical national infrastructure.”
A police spokesman said there was “no crime indication,” but the detectives “keep their minds open” on the cause.
Britain’s Energy Minister also said there was no “suggestion” of crime. “At the moment, the focus is on restoring energy. We have no real understanding yet of what caused the fire,” Ed Miliband told LBC Radio in London.
“There is no suggestion that there is a crime, just a catastrophic accident. That’s what we are seeing,” he added.
The reserve energy supply in Heathrow was also hit by the fire. Previously, an aviation analyst told the CNN that the apparent failure of the airport’s reserve electricity supply was “extraordinary.”
“There has to be a B plan,” said Aviation Analyst Geoffrey Thomas, noting that the airport is one of the main ones in the world and essentially important to the UK economy.
In an interview with the BBC, Miliband warned that lessons will have to be learned about “protection and resilience that are in force for large institutions like Heathrow.”
IMPACTS OF THE BOLT
Analysts predict a myriad of supply challenges for airlines trying to redirect hundreds of flights from and to London airport – a travel base receives 250,000 passengers and.
Heathrow was the fourth busiest airport in the world in 2023, according to the latest data. Last year, a record of 83.9 million passengers passed by. Distributed to four terminals, it usually operates with 99% of its capacity, with all major airlines crossing the hub.
Only this Friday, more than 1,350 flights entering or leaving the airport will be affected, according to the FlightTar24 website. At the time of closing, 120 air flights were immediately diverted to other airports or returned to their original location.
The process for deciding where flights would be diverted is dynamic and “fast”, according to aviation analyst Shukor Yusof.
“This requires a lot of coordination between the UK authority and the airline that is landing,” said Yusof, adding that long -distance flights have “a more complex challenge” for redirecting.
Only a limited number of places at nearby airports would be available, forcing airlines to look for other options outside the UK, he explained. An important and potentially decisive factor in redirecting would be fuel, as pilots can also be asked to circulate in the air while waiting for a free track to land, he added.
Flights are being diverted throughout Europe, including five flights to Manchester airport, about 320 kilometers northwest of London.
Ryanair added eight “rescue flights” between Dublin and London Stansted to help travelers. Air France suspended eight flights from and to Heathrow, but said the routes to other UK airports were operating normally. Lufthansa canceled all flights from and to Heathrow on Friday.
British Airways and Qatar Airways said they were working with authorities to update customers. Further, two Japanese flights that had already broken returned to Tokyo, and a third changed its destination, the Associated Press said.
The trains around Heathrow – Increasing the Heathrow Express, which connects the airport to the center of London – were also forced to interrupt services due to power supply failures.
The entrepreneurs warned of the significant economic consequences of closure, after the actions of some airlines fell up to 5%. Yusof, founder of the Singapore -based endo CNN that financial losses with closure can reach “hundreds of millions of pounds”.
What is being done with passengers
The interruption of flights generated scenes of tired travelers lined up in the Heathrow corridors, while passengers at other airports spent hours trapped on the track after their flights were canceled.
Kim Mikkel Skibrek, an American and Norwegian double citizen, was already flying for three hours from Minneapolis to London when the crew announced that they would have to return due to the fire.
“It’s okay. People have been frustrated with the flight returning after more than three hours, but now it seems that everyone is calmer,” Skibrek told CNN. She was traveling home in Oslo, Norway, to stay with her father fighting cancer and said she will have to take another flight as soon as possible.
On the same flight, Abby Hertz and his family were traveling to London for the marriage of her husband’s best friend. The couple postponed the ceremony once due to Covid and would finally marry now that their son is in remission of leukemia, hertz said – but it is unclear if they can attend the wedding now.
At JFK airport in New York, passenger Christine said her British Airways flight was ready to take off when the pilot announced that they had been asked to wait. Half an hour later, they were informed that Heathrow was closed and that another flight that had already taxed to the track had been rejected.
“The mood is very quiet on the plane, surprisingly. They only came to feed us,” said Christine, who refused to give her last name. But she continued, with a marriage in the United Kingdom to attend Saturday, she said he waited not to get stuck there.
For residents who live near the airport, bird corner replaced the usual roar of the aircraft. “Basically, living near Heathrow is noisy. There are planes every 90 seconds or more, besides the constant tinnitus of traffic, but you get used to it, to the point that you can not even realize anymore,” said James Henderson, who has lived near Heathrow for over 20 years.
“Today is different. You can hear the birds singing,” he said.
