Last week, Heathrow airport shut down after a fire at a nearby electrical substation cut its power supply.
Around 200,000 passengers were affected on Friday, 21 March 2025, as flights were grounded and inbound planes diverted across Europe after flames engulfed the North Hyde plant in Hayes, West London.
Flightradar24 estimated that 1,357 flights were affected, including around 120 already in the air before the shutdown. Data from the tracking site shows Amsterdam received the most diversions with seven, while Gatwick, Frankfurt, and Shannon each took six.
Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports, saw a record 83.9 million passengers in 2024-about 229,000 daily-with a plane landing or taking off every 45 seconds, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
Heathrow's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, apologised to stranded passengers, calling the disruption "as big as it gets" and admitting the airport couldn't be protected "100%."
According to a report, Woldbye delegated the decision to shut the airport to his deputy, Javier Echave, on Thursday night, as senior staff split into two “gold command” teams—one working overnight and the other resuming in the morning.
No. 10 and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander declined to back Heathrow’s CEO, who reportedly went to bed instead of managing the crisis after a fire caused a power outage.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has ordered the National Energy System Operator (Neso) to investigate the outage, while former Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly will lead an internal review of the airport's crisis response.
The prime minister Keir Starmer also expressed deep concern over the airport's closure, which was triggered by a power outage following a fire at a nearby electrical substation. A spokesperson for Sir Keir Starmer said it’s not the PM’s role to endorse private company CEOs but stressed the need to investigate the failure.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is visiting the UK as part of a delegation, had to cut her trip short by nearly a day after her flight was rescheduled due to the airport chaos.
At Kolkata’s NSCBI Airport, Mamta said, “As you know, our morning flight was cancelled, which disrupted the entire schedule and made the trip extremely hectic, including two days of travel.”
“There is no direct flight from Kolkata to London, which is the main issue. We are making every effort to establish a direct flight between the two cities,” she added.
Travel chaos amid flight disruptions
Around 120 aircraft were diverted or forced to turn back as 70 firefighters and ten fire engines battled the blaze, causing widespread disruption for passengers. Many travellers faced significant delays and additional expenses due to the chaos.
Former Chair of the City Hindus Network, Neel Patani, shared his experience and said, “We were set to fly from Dubai to London on Friday afternoon. Just as we were packing to check out, I glanced at my phone and saw the news. Originally, we planned to return on March 22nd, but after my cousin’s wedding dates were confirmed, we rescheduled to fly back a day early to attend the celebrations.”
“Dubai Airport requires in-person check-in, so we planned to leave the hotel early, to return our rental car and check in at the airport. But after the news broke, we struggled to reach British Airways-calls kept disconnecting, and the airport staff, though well-meaning, had little information. With no clear guidance, we were left uncertain about our options,” he added.
Speaking about how he managed to return to the UK, Neel Patani said, “My wife and three-and-a-half-year-old son, who has nut allergies, stayed at the hotel while I went to the airport to get information. I was there from 10 AM to around 4 PM local time but couldn’t reach British Airways or get any clear answers. Meanwhile, Emirates quickly cancelled flights and rebooked passengers, but British Airways only sent an email later in the day with little follow-up communication. We only learned that our flight was eventually cancelled via the Heathrow website.
“When I returned to the hotel, my wife and I continued trying to call BA, and by chance, we got through to the same agent who had rescheduled our flight back in January. We explained that we needed to be back for a wedding on the 22nd, and she found options for us-either a Turkish Airlines flight via Istanbul, an Abu Dhabi-Vienna-Heathrow route, or another through Abu Dhabi. We chose Abu Dhabi-Vienna-Heathrow as it allowed more rest for our son. We drove an hour to Abu Dhabi, caught a 3 AM flight to Vienna, and finally landed at the airport at 8:30 AM on Saturday - just in time for the wedding.”
Evacuations ordered as fire causes major blackout
A large cordon was established, leading to the evacuation of 150 people, most of whom were able to return by 17:00. Hillingdon Council arranged hotel stays for 12 displaced residents. The power outage affected over 65,000 homes and the airport, but the National Grid managed to restore electricity by 14:00.
Business owner Kinnari Patel, who lives in Cranford, just five minutes from Heathrow, described the moment the outage hit her neighbourhood, saying, “It happened around 11:30 at night when most people were asleep. I only realised something was wrong because I always have a fan running at night, and it suddenly switched off. When I tried to turn on my bedside lamp, it wouldn’t work. That’s when I knew there was a power issue, but I had no idea how serious it was. I looked out the window and saw the entire street, along with a nearby hotel, in complete darkness. Alarms were blaring-car alarms, house alarms-creating a sense of panic. It quickly became clear that this wasn’t just a problem with our house but had affected the whole area. We thought it was just a regular outage. It wasn’t until later that we learned the generators supplying Heathrow and the surrounding areas had failed due to the fire.”
Speaking about the evacuation, Kinnari explained, “The evacuation was limited to the immediate perimeter of the fire. I was just outside that area, so we didn’t have to leave, but those within the zone were told to evacuate almost immediately. Some of our friends were displaced for 24 hours and were not allowed to return home. They had to leave immediately and were assigned to hotels. One of my friends who lives closer to the airport said they had just 30 minutes to get out after the fire started. They stayed there until the fire was fully contained the next afternoon. Fortunately, emergency services handled everything smoothly, ensuring elderly residents and those needing assistance were taken care of.”
Julius Cerniauskas, CEO of Oxylabs, warned that Heathrow's disruption is a prime target for cybercriminals. With 1,350+ flights cancelled, scammers are impersonating airline staff and sending fake rebooking messages.
He urged passengers to verify offers via official airline channels, as legitimate carriers won’t pressure payments. “This crisis underscores the need for stronger fraud detection and real-time threat monitoring,” he said.
