London Heathrow airport closed due to fire

Global air traffic is severely disrupted this Friday, 21 March 2025. A fire is preventing any activity at London Heathrow, the main European airport. It has been completely closed down for the day.

A major fire that broke out on 20 March at 23:23 in the Hayes electrical substation on the outskirts of London has left Heathrow Airport without power. The situation prevents the 5th largest airport in the world, and the most important in Europe, from operating. For the safety of passengers, the decision was radical: a complete closure on Friday, 21 March 2025. All flights are therefore cancelled or diverted, creating a bit of chaos in the skies given the importance of this hub in global air traffic.

Several Days

Every day 1300 planes land or take off from this airport serving 80 countries. London Heathrow welcomes more than 200,000 travellers a day! London firefighters have indicated that the fire was brought under control on Friday morning. There are no victims. However, the power outage remains and restoring service will take time. The airport thus remains closed until 23:59 (local time) on Friday. Disturbances are expected for several more days, specified Heathrow Airport Holdings.

(MH with Olivier Duquesne – Source: Le Soir with AFP – Picture: © picture alliance / AA | Dinendra Haria)