Heathrow Airport has been forced to close all day after a huge inferno left at least 1,351 flights cancelled.
The UK's largest airport was reduced to chaos in the early hours of Friday morning after a blaze at a nearby electrical substation caused a mass power outage overnight.
More than 16,300 homes have also been facing blackouts due to the fire raging from the electrical substation in Hayes.
Around 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines were battling the blaze on Nestle Avenue, London Fire Brigade has revealed.
The inferno broke out in the late hours of Thursday evening
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Welcome to Heathrow sign
PAFirefighters were alerted to the blaze at around 11.30pm last night, with Heathrow confirming its closure just a few hours later at 2am this morning.
In a subsequent update released at 7.56am London Fire Brigade added: "The fire in Hayes is now under control but we will remain on scene throughout the day."
More than 200,000 people travel through the airport every day and the chaos is expected to be drawn out over the weekend.
A Heathrow Airport spokesman said: "Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation.
"Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored.
"To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 11.59pm on 21 March 2025.
"We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.
"We will provide an update when more information on the resumption of operations is available. We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to reassure that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation."
MORE FROM THE HEATHROW CHAOS:
An image of the delays and cancellations at Heathrow
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London Fire Brigade sent 60 firefighters to tackle the blaze
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An image of flights landing at Gatwick, while Heathrow remains empty
FLIGHTRADAR24
FlightRadar24 believes the chaos will affect at least 1,351 flights to and from Heathrow Airport.
Such a scenario would leave as many as 145,000 travellers impacted.
However, Gatwick Airport is now preparing to provide assistance for holidaymakers still looking to make the most of their scheduled getaways.
In a statement, Gatwick Airport said: “We are aware of the situation at Heathrow Airport today and stand ready to support as required.
“Flights are operating from London Gatwick as normal today.”
However, travel expert Simon Calder this morning told GB News that Gatwick will "struggle" to cope with thousands of stranded passengers.
Commuters heading into London this morning will also face disruption on the Elizabeth Line with "severe delays" reported on the service.
Transport for London said: "No service between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Airport and SEVERE DELAYS between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington due to a power supply failure at Heathrow Airport.
"Tickets are accepted on London Buses and London Underground. GOOD SERVICE on the rest of the line."
LATEST TRAVEL CHAOS:
A British Airways plane takes off from Heathrow Airport
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Plumes of smoke have been seen soaring into the sky
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Travellers hoping to touch down in Heathrow this morning have been diverted to Shannon in Ireland.
A spokesman for Shannon Airport Group said: “We are closely monitoring the situation at Heathrow airport and are providing support by accommodating diverted flights as needed and our team is on-site to assist with the additional passengers.
“So far, Shannon airport has facilitated six diverted flights originally scheduled to land at Heathrow, including flights from Toronto, Atlanta, Bridgetown Barbados, Boston, Orlando and Newark.
“The first of these flights landed safely at 4.26am this morning.”
Flights from India have even been forced to turn around or divert.
Air India's Heathrow-bound flight number AI129 from Mumbai is returning to the Gateway of India.
Flight AI161 from Delhi is also being diverted almost 500 miles away from Heathrow to Frankfurt.
