London’s Heathrow Airport, a global aviation hub, has been forced to shut down operations until midnight on March 21, 2025, following a significant fire at a nearby electricity substation that triggered a widespread power outage.
A Heathrow spokesperson, as reported by Sky News, confirmed the “significant power outage across the airport” and the lack of a clear timeline for reliable power restoration. “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025,” the spokesperson stated.
The airport authority has issued a stark warning to passengers, urging them “not to travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” anticipating “significant disruption over the coming days.”
The impact of the closure is immense. Flight tracking website Flightradar24 estimates that at least 1,351 flights, both incoming and outgoing, will be affected on this day alone. This figure includes approximately 120 flights already airborne Friday morning, facing potential diversions to alternate airports or forced returns to their points of origin.
Reports indicate that some flights have already been diverted to Gatwick Airport, Paris, and Shannon Airport in Ireland, as the aviation industry grapples with the sudden closure of one of its busiest hubs.
Heathrow, which served a record 83.9 million passengers last year, operates with a plane landing or taking off approximately every 45 seconds, highlighting the scale of the disruption caused by the power outage.
