Blaze at Electrical Substation Halts Airport Operations for 18 Hours, Disrupting Thousands of Flights
A fire at an electrical substation in Hayes, west London, late on Friday night led to the temporary closure of Heathrow Airport, causing widespread travel disruption.
The blaze broke out just before midnight, prompting emergency services to deploy 70 firefighters and ten fire engines to the scene. A safety cordon of 200 metres was established around the site.
As a result, Heathrow suspended all operations for 18 hours, leading to over 1,000 flight cancellations and leaving thousands of passengers stranded worldwide. The shutdown also disrupted the movement of goods worth millions of pounds passing through the airport.
John Pettigrew, Chief Executive of National Grid, described the fire as a “unique event” but reassured that two other substations remained operational, capable of supplying sufficient power to Heathrow. However, the time required to switch power from the damaged substation to the remaining two contributed to the delays in resuming operations.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander declined to comment on Heathrow’s management during the crisis, stating that the airport’s board was responsible for such evaluations.
The UK government has launched a six-week inquiry into the incident, led by the National Energy System Operator (Neso), with initial findings expected in May.
