Travelers worldwide were bracing themselves for a period of turmoil due to a 24-hour shutdown at Heathrow Airport, leading to diversions of flights in mid-air and cancellation of dozens of others.
Heathrow Airport, known as one of the busiest airports globally, serving over 200,000 passengers daily, was compelled to cease operations on Friday following a fire at a nearby substation that resulted in a significant power outage.
As the fire blazed and news of the closure spread, American passengers expecting to arrive at Heathrow were observed performing swift U-turns late on Friday EST, according to FlightRadar.
In total, 120 planes which are already in the air are being diverted or turned around, in addition to flights that have been delayed and canceled as a result of the incident.
Passengers from as far as San Francisco, Japan and Perth, Australia were caught in the carnage, with an estimated 1,351 flights to and from Heathrow expected to be impacted as the day goes on.
That means as many as 145,000 travelers could be affected by the closure, according to aviation-data firm Cirium.
Planes from Dallas, Chicago and Minneapolis all appeared to be returning home after up to three hours in the air.
Passengers on other flights departing from the United States will instead touch down at other airports across the nation. One flight from Dallas will travel to Bangor, Maine instead of London, while a flight from San Francisco will land at Dulles International.
Flight US 146 from Newark was among one of the first flights impacted by the diversion while already in the air. It is now set to land in Shannon in Ireland shortly after 5am. It was scheduled to land at Heathrow at 5.55am.
Meanwhile the QF9 Qantas flight from Perth to Heathrow has been diverted to Paris as European airports prepare for an influx of planes that are too far into their journeys to turn back.
Amsterdam, Newfoundland in Canada and Helsinki are among some of the cities accepting diverted flights.
Weary passengers at airports across the globe are eagerly awaiting news from their airlines.
One traveler who is waiting in a Toronto terminal said his flight bound for Heathrow still says it is taking off as scheduled in 50 minutes.
‘They don’t have the heart to tell us,’ he wrote on X.
Another traveler, whose plane from JFK took off two hours ago, told DailyMail.com she had been circling the skies of New York since they departed.
She said pilots gave a single announcement ‘about 40 minutes after we took off saying the airport was shut.
‘[The pilot said] we have to circle to dump fuel before landing back at JFK, but didn’t say for how long or if we’d get another flight.’
On a flight from Japan, travelers who have been in the air for 13 hours will find themselves in Helsinki rather than London as planned.
Some lucky passengers have been diverted to other London Airports. British Airways flights from Johannesberg, Lagos and Cape Town will now touch down at Gatwick.
Travelers from Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Houston, Hamberg, Zurich, Dublin and Barcelona are among scores who will wake to learn their flights have been canceled.
The blaze broke out at 8pm on Thursday and the busy airport, which sees a plane land or take off around every 45 seconds on average, announced its closure six hours later.
A Heathrow Airport spokesperson 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 23h59 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.’
Assistant Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade Pat Goulbourne said: ‘This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible.
‘The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large number of homes and local businesses, and we are working closely with our partners to minimise disruption.
‘Firefighters have led 29 people to safety from neighbouring properties, and as a precaution, a 200-metre cordon has been established, with around 150 people evacuated.
‘Due to the significant amount of smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed.
‘This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night. As we head into the morning, disruption is expected to increase, and we urge people to avoid the area wherever possible.’
The cause of the fire remains unknown. No injuries have so far been reported.
