LONDON: Heathrow Airport in the UK is closed by a massive fire, disrupting hundreds of flights. Due to a massive fire at a nearby electrical substation that destroyed power, Heathrow Airport in Britain announced that it would be closed for the entire Friday, causing aircraft plans to be disrupted globally.
The London Fire Brigade reported that about 70 firemen were battling the west London fire that triggered a widespread power outage at Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe and the fifth-busiest in the world.
Smoke plumes and enormous orange flames were observed soaring into the sky. Thousands of properties were without power, and about 150 people were evacuated from surrounding structures.
341 flights operated by British Airways were expected to touch down at Heathrow on Friday.
According to the statement, “We are working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond, as this will obviously have a significant impact on our operation and our customers.”
Aircraft had to reroute around the globe due to the fire.
A United Airlines flight from San Francisco was scheduled to land in Washington, D.C. instead of London, a United Airlines flight from New York was bound to Shannon, Ireland, and a Qantas Airways flight from Perth was diverted to Paris.
A few U.S. flights were reversing course and heading back to their starting location.
“Heathrow is one of the major hubs of the world,” stated FlightRadar24 spokesperson Ian Petchenik. “This is going to disrupt airlines’ operations around the world.”