UK’s Heathrow airport shuts amid power outage, spelling travel chaos
London airport says it will close until midnight on Friday for the safety of passengers and workers.
The United Kingdom’s Heathrow Airport has announced it will close until midnight due to a power outage, throwing travel plans into chaos.
Europe’s busiest airport said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
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list of 4 itemsend of list“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow Airport said in a post on X.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
At least 120 aircraft that are currently in the air are set to be diverted to alternate airports or return to their origin, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed on Friday.
Heathrow is among top 10 busiest airports worldwide. In 2024, the airport handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
More to follow…