Massive fire at London Heathrow Airport, Air India flights returned, airline issued advisory for passengers
Heathrow Airport shut: Air India said on Friday that its flight operations from London Heathrow have been temporarily suspended.
A fire in an electrical substation at London Heathrow Airport has disrupted the power supply and the airport has been announced to be closed till midnight on March 21. This has affected 1350 flights. Problems arising at Heathrow, one of the major hubs of the world, will disrupt the operations of airlines around the world. The airline said in a statement, "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 23h59 on 21 March. Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience."
Air India said flight number AI129 from Mumbai to London Heathrow is returning to Mumbai and flight AI161 from Delhi is being diverted to Frankfurt. "All our remaining flights to and from London Heathrow, including this morning's AI111, have been canceled for 21 March. We will update on when we will resume operations as soon as we have more information. Flights to London Gatwick remain unaffected," the statement said.
"To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will remain closed until 11:59 pm on 21 March," Heathrow Airport said in a post on X, adding that passengers have been advised not to travel to the airport.
According to information, around 150 people have been evacuated from nearby buildings as huge orange flames and plumes of smoke were seen rising into the sky. According to the information, at least 120 flights coming to Heathrow had to be diverted to other airports, while as of Friday 1,351 flights were scheduled to land and take off at Heathrow.
FlightRadar24 spokesman Ian Petchenik said, "Heathrow is one of the major hubs in the world. This will disrupt the operations of airlines around the world." London Fire Brigade said that about 70 firefighters were engaged in controlling the fire and the cause of the wire burning could not be ascertained.
