Chaos at Heathrow Airport: Fire causes power outages and flight stop!

Chaos at Heathrow Airport: Fire causes power outages and flight stop!

Heathrow, Großbritannien - London Heathrow Airport, one of the largest and most busy airports in Europe, remains closed in a substation until March 21 at 11:59 p.m. due to a fire. The incident has led to considerable power failures that affected not only the airport, but also thousands of households in the area. Around 200,000 travelers are affected by the chaos because 1351 flights were canceled or redirected. The anti-terrorist unit of the Metropolitan Police has taken over the investigation, but there is no evidence of a criminal cause of the fire, as [world] reports.

Around 70 firefighters are in use to combat the fire and prevent the flames from spreading further. As a precaution, around 150 people from the Hayes district were evacuated. Ed Miliband, the Minister of Energy, informed that both the main power supply and the emergency power system failed. Passengers are advised not to go to the airport because flights are being diverted, including to Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Manchester, Glasgow, Shannon in Ireland and Lyon. Swiss then canceled all flights from Switzerland to Heathrow for Friday; 24 flights with almost 3000 passengers are affected. Frankfurt Airport reported that only six flights from or to London had to be canceled on Friday.

further information and effects

The situation leads to a high level of uncertainty in air traffic, since flights that could not land in Heathrow also have to be diverted. Frankfurt Airport expects considerable disorders in the coming days, and the normalization of the company could take two to four days. The European air traffic control Eurocontrol has plans for the diversions to accommodate the affected passengers, reports [Merkur].

The cause of the fire in the substation has so far remained unknown, which the investigation is also complicated. Media reports show that the number of aircraft in the air, which had to turn or turn away due to the closure of Heathrow, is estimated to be around 120. Until further notice, no arrivals were allowed at the airport, which further exacerbated the situation for many travelers.