LONDON – Heathrow’s British Airport will be closed on Friday after an electrical substation fire eliminated its power, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers who use one of the largest travel centers in Europe.
Thousands of houses have also lost power and around 150 people had to be evacuated after a transformer in an electrical substation, he caught fire in western London.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow” for the full day on Friday, the airport press release said. “We expect a significant disruption in the coming days, and passengers should in no case go to the airport until the airport will reopen.”
He said he would provide an update on his operations when he has more information on the restoration of the available power.
Heathrow is one of the most popular airports in the world for international travel. He had the most in January frequented January this year, with more than 6.3 million passengers, up more than 5% for the same period last year. January was also the 11th consecutive month, it has an average of more than 200,000 passengers per day, the airport citing transatlantic trips as a key contributor.
The British government earlier this year approved the construction of a third track at the airport to stimulate the economy and connectivity with the world.
London firefighters said 10 firefighters and around 70 firefighters were on fire.
“The fire caused a power failure affecting a large number of local houses and companies, and we are working closely with our partners to minimize the disturbances,” said assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne.
Images published on social networks have shown enormous flames and great plumes of smoke from the establishment.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said that in a position on X, the power failure had affected more than 16,300 houses.
Emergency services were called to the scene at 11:23 p.m. Thursday. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Goulbourne urged people to take safety precautions and avoid the area while the crews worked to turn off the fire.
