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Passenger Kim Mikkel Skibrek said he had been in the air for three hours on a Delta Air Lines flight from the United States to London when it had to turn back.
The crew announced their Heathrow-bound flight had to head to Minneapolis because of a fire at a power station near the London airport, he said.
“Everything is fine. People were frustrated with the flight returning after over three hours but now it seems everyone is calmer. They announced that there was nothing wrong with the flight,” Skibrek told CNN.
Skibrek, a 40-year-old US-Norwegian citizen, said he was headed to Oslo to see his dad, who has cancer. He said he is hoping to get on another flight as soon as possible.
Abby Hertz, a passenger on the same flight, said she could see on the monitor that the plane was over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Canada when it was forced to turn around.
Hertz was headed to London with her husband and two children for a wedding.
“We are flying to my husband’s best friend from childhood’s wedding, which had been postponed due to Covid,” Hertz told CNN.
“The couple’s son had leukemia and is now in remission, so they are finally getting married.
“We have a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old in tow with us so it’s …not fun,” Hertz said.
Soon after, Hertz said Delta told her the family was being rebooked on a flight to Heathrow scheduled to leave Friday night.
“We just might make the wedding after all!” she said.
Passengers and aviation workers are bracing for a day of chaos after power went out at Heathrow Airport – one of the world’s busiest – causing global travel disruptions.
Firefighters are battling the blaze at a nearby electricity substation that caused the shutdown, forcing thousands of flight diversions and cancelations, with global ramifications.
If you’re just waking up to the news, here’s what we know:
- Heathrow Airport will remain shut all Friday.
- Its closure is expected to affect more than 1,300 flights, with an airline analytics firm estimating that upwards of 145,000 passengers could be impacted.
- The airport is warning of “significant disruption” over the coming days. Heathrow said “passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens” and should contact their airline for more information.
- The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
- At least 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze. More than 150 people have been evacuated from the area, according to the fire department, and about 16,000 homes in the area have been impacted.
- The blaze will be a “prolonged incident” with disruption to nearby residents expected to increase, according to the fire department.
The closure of London’s Heathrow Airport is extremely disruptive for travelers because of its significance as an international aviation hub, a director with flight tracking site Flightradar24 told CNN.
“This is absolutely crucial to airline travel,” Flightradar24’s Director of Communications Ian Petchenik said. “Aside from being one of the busiest airports in the world, it’s also one of the airports that collects the largest number of airlines.”
At least 120 flights in the air are being diverted to alternate airports, according to Flightradar24.
Several were diverted to London’s Gatwick airport, as well as Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport. In North America, other flights have been re-routed to Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, among others.
Petchenik expects it could take up to days or weeks for affected airlines to return to normal depending on the size of their operation.
Some context: Heathrow was the world’s fourth-busiest airport in 2023, according to the most recent data, and saw a record-breaking 83.9 million passengers last year.
Spread across five terminals and just 14 miles west of central London, it usually runs at 99% capacity, with every major airline passing through, meaning it’s always very busy.
Correction: This post was updated to show the correct number of flights being diverted.
CNN’s Nada Bashir and Duarte Mendonca have just arrived on the scene in Hayes, where firefighters say they are still tackling the substation blaze that has led to huge travel disruption at London’s nearby Heathrow Airport.
An investigation into the cause is ongoing.
“The substation is currently still ablaze. Firefighters are working to isolate the electricity, which will then allow them to tackle the blaze with firefighting foam,” London Fire Brigade station commander Paul Morgan told CNN. “That’s expected to take place very shortly.”
“The cause of the fire is still under investigation,” Morgan added.
“The blaze is not considered to be a danger to the local community as it has been contained and is not spreading. Residents living nearby have been advised to close their windows due to the smoke.”
Many of the streets around Heathrow have been closed by police and movements are highly restricted according to the CNN team there.
Heathrow Airport’s apparent lack of a back-up electricity supply is “extraordinary,” especially considering the London travel hub’s significance to the British economy, an aviation expert said.
The airport, one of the world’s busiest, announced a complete shutdown on Friday following a “significant power outage” caused by a nearby fire – triggering travel chaos.
“You are our major hub to the world. You are incredibly important to the economy of the United Kingdom. There has to be a plan B,” said aviation analyst Geoffrey Thomas.
“I find it extraordinary that there’s no capacity to have another power source,” he told CNN.
Thomas said the shutdown will cause significant turmoil because flights will have to be diverted out of London, where other airports, such as Gatwick, have mostly reached capacity.
Flights could be diverted to Birmingham and Manchester, he said, adding that airlines would face staffing problems later due to crews not landing at Heathrow as scheduled.
The London Fire Brigade has received more than 200 calls about the massive blaze at the electricity substation near Heathrow Airport.
The fire has caused a complete shutdown of one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs, causing severe disruption to travelers and those living nearby.
“Our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said.
“Control Officers have handled more than 200 calls, offering vital guidance and reassurance to the public.”
The fire brigade earlier warned that the blaze would be a “prolonged incident,” with disruption expected to increase. More than 150 people have been evacuated from the area.
The closure of Heathrow Airport due to a nearby fire is expected to affect more than 1,300 flights, according to tracking website FlightRadar24, potentially causing disruption for tens of thousands of travelers.
Flights are being canceled and some already in the air are being diverted.
“Today’s total closure of London-Heathrow will affect at least 1,351 flights to/from LHR,” FlightRadar24 said on X. “That doesn’t include any flights that might be canceled or delayed due to aircraft being out of position.”
Airline analytics firm Cirium estimated that “upwards of 145,000” passengers could be impacted.
Earlier, FlightRadar24 said 120 flights bound for Heathrow were already in the air.
Some context: Heathrow was the world’s fourth-busiest airport in 2023, according to the most recent data, and saw a record-breaking 83.9 million passengers last year. Spread across five terminals and just 14 miles west of central London, it usually runs at 99% capacity, with every major airline passing through, meaning it’s always very busy.
British national Christine told CNN she and her fellow passengers have been stuck on the tarmac at New York’s JFK airport and were just about to take off when they heard the news of Heathrow’s closure.
Christine, who declined to give her last name but showed proof of travel, was coming back from a work trip to New York and had been hoping to attend a wedding in the UK this weekend.
She told CNN she boarded her British Airways flight as normal, but once they were ready to depart, the pilot came on to say they’d been asked to hold for a while.
About 30 minutes later, the pilot told passengers that Heathrow was closed and that another flight which had already taxied to the runway had turned back.
“The mood is fairly relaxed on the plane, surprisingly. They’ve just come around to feed us,” she said. “I have a wedding to attend on Saturday, so I really hope we’re not stuck until then!”
The electric substation that caught fire and caused widespread power outages, forcing the closure of London’s Heathrow Airport, has been evacuated, according to energy company Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
“The site has been evacuated and the safety of local residents, our colleagues, and the emergency teams is our highest priority,” said SSE
CNN has reached out to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks for more information.
The fire at the North Hyde substation in West London has caused widespread power cuts, impacting more than 16,000 homes in the area, according to the company.
The large blaze burning near Heathrow Airport will be a “prolonged incident” with disruption expected to increase, according to the London Fire Brigade.
Here’s what we know about the fire:
Images released by the fire brigade show an electrical substation engulfed in flames in Hayes, a suburb about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) north of Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs.
The photos show large plumes of smoke billowing into the sky as fire trucks rushed to the scene.
More than 150 people have been evacuated in the area, the fire brigade said, adding that residents should shut their windows.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters have been sent to tackle the blaze, and a 200-meter cordon has been set up around the scene as precaution, the fire brigade said.
“This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night,” firefighters said in a statement. “As we head into the morning, disruption is expected to increase, and we urge people to avoid the area wherever possible.”
The electrical substation supplies the airport and the fire has caused a “significant power outage” at Heathrow, the airport said.
As flights are diverted and canceled, Heathrow officials advised passengers not to travel to the airport.
A major UK power firm has urged anyone medically dependent on electricity who is affected by outages to phone their hotlines for help after a blaze broke out at a substation near Heathrow Airport.
The Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks – which delivers power to nearly 4 million homes – has told residents to call them.
“If you are medically dependent on electricity and need support please call us on 105,” the company wrote on X.
Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest two-runway airports, with millions of passengers traveling through its terminals annually and about 1,300 combined take-offs and landings a day, according to its website.
Last year, a record-breaking 83.9 million passengers traveled through the aviation hub, officials said, up 6% in passenger growth from the year prior.
Earlier this year, the airport saw its busiest January on record, it said, averaging more than 200,000 passengers a day for 11 consecutive months.
More than 1.2 million passengers travelled between the UK and the US that month, up 8% from 2024, it said.
Heathrow began as a small airfield in 1930 and didn’t expand into a larger international airport until after World War II.
It opened in 1946 as London Airport. The first aircraft to take off from its airfield was a converted Lancaster bomber called Starlight that flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Today, more than 67 million passengers travel through the airport annually, with more than 90 airlines traveling to about 180 destinations across more than 90 countries, according to the airport.
The airport has six terminals, with five open to the public and one reserved specifically for royals and heads of state. Terminal five of the airport is the largest free-standing structure in the UK.
Apart from ferrying passengers across the globe, its cargo center transports animals from lions to rhinos, exotic artworks, and parts to NASA’s International Space Station.
Flights to and from Heathrow are now being diverted or canceled, after the London airport was closed due to a fire at a nearby power substation.
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said 120 flights currently in the air “will be diverting to alternate airports or returning to their origins.”
The first scheduled arrival since the closure is a British Airways flight from Johannesburg. It was due to land at 4:30 a.m. local time and is still listed as “expected” on the Heathrow website.
A United Airlines flight from New York has been diverted to Ireland, according to United’s website.
Flights to Zurich, Paris and Madrid have been canceled, according to Heathrow’s listings.
Heathrow Airport is warning of “significant disruption” over the coming days.
“We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” the airport said in a statement to CNN, adding that they “do not have clarity on when power may be reliable restored.”
“We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to reassure that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation,” the airport’s statement read.
London’s Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest, announced a complete shutdown all day Friday due to a “significant power outage” as a result of a large fire nearby, airport officials said.
“Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” Heathrow Airport said in a statement on X. “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March.”
CNN has reached out to the airport for additional comment.
The London Fire Brigade said in a statement that a transformer within an electrical substation in Hayes, in west London, was alight. Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were responding to the blaze, the statement said.
Around 150 people have been evacuated and authorities have set up a 200-meter cordon as a precaution, Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said in the statement. Firefighters also led 29 people from surrounding properties to safety, officials added.
Fire officials said they were called to the fire around 11:23 p.m. local time on Thursday and crews have been on scene throughout the night.
“As we head into the morning, disruption is expected to increase, and we urge people to avoid the area wherever possible,” Goulbourne said.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, fire officials said.
Passengers are advised not to travel to Heathrow and should contact their airline for further information, the airport said in its statement.
