Fire shuts down London’s Heathrow Airport, disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands

By BRIAN MELLEY, DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS, Related Press

LONDON (AP) — A big hearth close to London’s Heathrow Airport knocked out energy Friday to Europe’s busiest flight hub, forcing it to close all day and disrupting international journey for a whole lot of 1000’s of passengers.

At the least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow had been affected, flight monitoring service FlightRadar 24 mentioned, and the impression was prone to final a number of days as passengers attempt to reschedule their journey and airways work to get planes and crew to the suitable locations.

Authorities have no idea what brought about the hearth however to this point discovered don’t have any proof it was suspicious.

Residents in west London described listening to a big explosion, adopted by a fireball and clouds of smoke, when the blaze ripped by means of {the electrical} substation close to the airport.

Some 120 flights had been within the air when the closure was introduced, with some rotated and others diverted to Gatwick Airport outdoors London, Charles de Gaulle Airport close to Paris or Eire’s Shannon Airport, monitoring companies confirmed.

Lawrence Hayes was three-quarters of the way in which to London from New York when Virgin Atlantic introduced they had been being diverted to Glasgow.

“It was a red-eye flight and I’d already had a full day, so I don’t even know the way lengthy I’ve been up for,” Hayes instructed the BBC as he was getting off the airplane in Scotland. “Fortunately I managed to pay money for my spouse and she or he’s kindly booked me a prepare ticket to get again to Euston, nevertheless it’s going to be an extremely lengthy day.”

Heathrow is certainly one of the world’s busiest airports for worldwide journey. It had its busiest January on document earlier this 12 months, with greater than 6.3 million passengers, up greater than 5% from the identical interval final 12 months.

Nonetheless, the disruption Friday fell in need of the one attributable to the 2010 eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the ambiance and created trans-Atlantic air journey chaos for months.

Fireplace beneath management however impression to final days

It was too early to find out what sparked the large blaze about 2 miles from the airport, however there’s “no suggestion” of foul play, Power Secretary Ed Miliband mentioned.

Nonetheless, the Metropolitan Police pressure mentioned counterterrorism detectives are main the investigation into the trigger due to the placement of {the electrical} substation hearth and its impression on vital nationwide infrastructure. The pressure mentioned counterterrorism command has “specialist assets and capabilities” that may assist discover the trigger shortly.

They’re working with the London Fireplace Brigade.

Miliband mentioned the hearth, which took seven hours to manage, additionally knocked out a backup energy provide to the airport. Heathrow mentioned in a press release that it had no selection however to shut the airport for the day.

“We count on important disruption over the approaching days, and passengers shouldn’t journey to the airport beneath any circumstances till the airport reopens,” the airport mentioned.

Heathrow was on the coronary heart of a shorter disruption in 2023 when Britain’s air visitors management system was hit by a breakdown that slowed takeoffs and landings throughout the U.Okay. on one of many busiest journey days of the 12 months.

Anita Mendiratta, an aviation guide, mentioned the impression of the closure might be felt over two to 4 days as airways, cargo carriers, and crews are moved into place and passengers rebooked.

“As quickly because the airport opens up at midnight tonight, it’s not solely about resuming with tomorrow’s flights, it’s the backlog and the implications which have taken place,” Mendiratta mentioned. “Crew and plane, many usually are not the place they’re alleged to be proper now. So the recalculation of that is going to be intense.”

Diverted, canceled and in limbo

At Heathrow, a household of 5 touring to Dallas confirmed up within the hopes their flight residence — nonetheless listed as delayed — would take off.

However when Andrea Sri introduced her brother, sister-in-law and their three kids to the airport, they had been instructed by police that there can be no flight.

“It was a waste of time. Very complicated,” mentioned Sri, who lives in London. “We tried to get in contact with British Airways, however they don’t open their phone line till 8 a.m.”

Vacationers who had been diverted to different cities discovered themselves attempting to guide journey onward to London. Qantas airways despatched flights from Singapore and Perth, Australia, to Paris, the place it mentioned it might bus folks to London, a course of prone to additionally embody a prepare shuttle beneath the English Channel.

Funds airline Ryanair, which doesn’t function out of Heathrow, mentioned it added eight “rescue flights” between Dublin and Stansted, one other London airport, to move stranded passengers Friday and Saturday.

Nationwide Rail canceled all trains to and from the airport.

Flights usually start touchdown and taking off at Heathrow at 6 a.m. attributable to nighttime flying restrictions. However the skies had been silent Friday morning.

“Residing close to Heathrow is noisy, there are planes each 90 seconds or so, plus the fixed hum of visitors, however you get used to it, to the purpose of not noticing,” mentioned James Henderson, who has lived subsequent to the airport for greater than 20 years. “In the present day is totally different, you possibly can hear the birds singing.”

Blaze lit up the sky and darkened properties

Matthew Muirhead was working Thursday night time close to Heathrow when he stepped outdoors with a colleague and seen smoke rising from {an electrical} substation and heard sirens crying out.

“We noticed a vivid flash of white, and all of the lights on the town went out,” he mentioned.