Heathrow Airport has been shut down all day today after a devastating electrical fire -sparking worldwide travel chaos and days of disruption for hundreds of thousands of people already being compared to 9/11.
The UK’s busiest airport was forced to close on Friday after its main electrical substation exploded and set alight less than two miles away in the west London suburb of Hayes.
Around 220,000 people were due to travel through Heathrow today and the chaos from the complete closure will rumble on over the weekend and into next week because aircraft and passengers are now in the wrong place all over the world.
At least 1,357 flights have already been cancelled, diverted or delayed today. Some planes already on their way London managed to land at other UK airports – but many including Gatwick are now full.
Dozens of flights have been diverted to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Lyon and other European cities, stranding tens of thousands of people abroad. Some planes were even forced to turn back and set down in New York, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Delhi, where Air India has now cancelled all its flights to London.
British Airways, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, Air Canada and Delta have suffered the largest number of cancellations and diversions.
It is the biggest disruption for UK aviation since the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud grounded and diverted flights in April and May 2010, costing airlines and its customers an estimated £130million every day.
The need to shut down the airport due to the loss of just one electrical substation is unprecedented and raises major questions for Heathrow and the Government. It has also left many stranded travellers raging.
Senior sources at the airport have insisted that Heathrow does have back-up power systems but ‘activating contingencies for the whole airport requires some time’ and ‘isn’t immediate’, one insider said. Bosses are expected to be hauled before Parliament to explain.
Julian Bray, one of the UK’s leading aviation experts said: ‘We are all amazed that Heathrow does not have a viable standby independent of the grid emergency power supply but relies on the National Grid. It’s not as if Heathrow is short of money – it has a substantial war chest for building the third runway’.
Aviation consultant John Strickland said: ‘It’s a contained version of 9/11 or, to an extent, the Icelandic volcanic eruption. I remembered seeing on those occasions – particularly more so on 9/11 – it happened so quick and then US airspace was closed, they were turning back aircraft and holding planes’.
More than 16,300 homes in west London are also suffering from blackouts on Friday. All trains to Heathrow have also been cancelled.
As Heathrow is shut down sparking worldwide travel chaos:
- Almost 1,400 planes have been cancelled sparking flight chaos across the world with hundreds of planes forced to divert to other UK airports or further afield;
- Extraordinary and terrifying pictures of the substation fire have emerged with smoke seen all over London;
- MailOnline has compiled a full list of Heathrow Airport flights cancelled following fire – as Gatwick also issues major update;
Smoke billows from the electrical substation that exploded last night, forcing the complete closure of Heathrow airport in a crisis being compared to 9/11 in terms of flights grounded
Firefighters extinguish the fire at the North Hyde electrical substation, which caught fire Thursday night and lead to a closure of Heathrow Airport in London
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