London's Heathrow Airport will remain closed throughout Friday due to an electricity supply disruption caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation. The fire incident has impacted about 1,351 flights scheduled to either land or depart from the UK's busiest airport on Friday.
According to a BBC, the fire erupted at a substation in Hayes in west London, triggering chaos at the airport. Authorities are yet to confirm the reason behind the incident. The report stated that officials are looking at "significant" operational disruptions over the next few days because of this situation.
Thousands of nearby houses and businesses have also been left without power due to the fire. The officials reported carrying out an operation to evacuate 150 people from surrounding properties. About 70 firefighters were involved in battling the blaze in the west of London.
When Will Heathrow Airport Open For Operation?
Passengers have been advised not to travel "under any circumstances" until the report reopens, which is expected to cause quite inconvenience and financial costs.
In view of the situation some Indian airlines, including Air India have issued an advisory to the passengers scheduled to travel to London. In an official statement, Air India said: "Operations to and from London Heathrow (LHR) have been disrupted due to a significant power outage, with the airport's suspension lasting until 23:59 London time on Mar. 21"
Subsequently, the airline's AI129 flight from Mumbai is returning back and AI161 from Delhi is diverting to Frankfurt, Germany. Air India added that all other flights scheduled for Mar. 21 have been cancelled. Notably, flights that were scheduled to fly to London Gatwick remain unaffected. Passengers have been asked to stay updated on the latest information through the airline's social media sites.
An airport spokesperson told the BBC that they do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored.
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