Travel expert Simon Calder has warned that "it will take days to recover," after Heathrow Airport announced it will be closed this morning following a fire nearby.
Heathrow Airport has been forced to close until midnight after a massive fire at a nearby electrical substation caused a significant power outage.
Large-scale diversions are already taking place, with British Airways flights from Cape Town, Singapore, Johannesburg, and Lagos landing at Gatwick Airport instead.
Travel expert Simon Calder told GB News: "We have well over 200,000 passengers coming in and out of Heathrow on what is the busiest day of the week at Europe's busiest airport.
Simon Calder said that the disruption is likely to have a knock on effect
GB NEWS
"More than 1,300 flights are due to fly in or out. We're already seeing large-scale diversions. For instance, British Airways' incoming flights from Cape Town, Singapore, Johannesburg, and Lagos are landing at Gatwick Airport, which is relatively good news for passengers, as they might think, 'At least I'm in the right place.'
"Of course, this is going to put enormous pressure on Gatwick, where they weren’t expecting such a situation, so they only have the usual number of baggage handlers and UK Border Force staff. It’s going to be very busy there.
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"Other passengers are arriving in Shannon, on the west coast of Ireland.
"It's a beautiful place, but not where you'd want to end up after a long flight, especially when you're bleary-eyed and wondering how you're going to get to your destination.
"British Airways, with more than 50 per cent of its flights affected, is desperately trying to figure out what to do.
"Can you believe that, even after Heathrow announced it was closed, British Airways was still selling tickets for flights today? They’ve now told everyone, 'We can’t fly you today, and we don’t know when we will be able to.'
"Let’s hope very much that the airport returns to normal operations tomorrow. However, even then, planes, pilots, and passengers will be stranded in various parts of the world.
"It will likely take the rest of the weekend before everyone is where they need to be."
More than 200,000 people typically travel through the airport daily, with the chaos expected to continue throughout the weekend.
Around 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines are battling the blaze on Nestle Avenue, according to London Fire Brigade.
Firefighters were alerted to the inferno at around 11.30pm last night.
The fire has also caused blackouts for more than 16,300 homes in the area.
The fire broke out just two miles away from Heathrow AirportLONDON FIRE BRIGADEThe electrical substation fire in Hayes triggered the mass power outage that has paralysed the airport.
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."
"To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 11.59pm on 21 March 2025."
The spokesman urged passengers "not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens."
