Key Points
Heathrow Airport closed until 11:59 PM on March 21
16,000 homes left without electricity
AI flights to London canceled or diverted
London's Heathrow Airport has been shut down for the day after a fire in a substation in the western part of the city led to a power outage and has left more than 16,000 homes without electricity.
Air India said in a statement that London Heathrow-bound AI129 from Mumbai was returning to Mumbai and AI161 from Delhi was diverting to Frankfurt.
"All our remaining flights to and from London Heathrow, including AI111 of this morning, have been cancelled for 21 March. We will update about resumption of operations as soon as we have more information," the airline said.
It further stated that flights to London Gatwick remain unaffected.
In an X post, the London Heathrow airport advised passengers not to travel and also to contact their respective airlines for further details.
"Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage. To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 11.59 pm on March 21," the airport said.
As per reports, several flights have already been diverted while the airport authorities "expect significant disruption over the coming days".
The reports have mentioned that the Scottish and Southern Electricity Network, which supplies power to nearly four million homes in central and southern England, as well as the north of Scotland, said the fire broke out at the North Hyde substation and that emergency services were on the scene.
Heathrow is the UK's largest airport, handling around 1,300 landings and take-offs each day. A record 83.9 million passengers passed through its terminals last year.
