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London Heathrow Airport was forced to close until a fire nearby, disrupting the scheduled flights and providing unrest in global trips.
The main airport of the British capital, one of the most popular international flight centers in the world, said that it would close operations throughout Friday after a fire in an electricity base providing the airport caused a “significant power outage”.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23:59 on March 21. Passengers are invited not to go to the airport and should contact their airline for more information,” wrote Heathrow airport in an article on X.
Nearly 100 flights were canceled and around 120 to reach Heathrow were diverted to neighboring airports, notably Gatwick and Stansted in London, Birmingham, Charles de Gaulle, Helsinki and Shannon from Paris in Ireland. The closure will affect at least 1,351 flights, he added.
The arrivals were “regulated at zero due to a power failure at the airport”, according to an announcement on the portal of Eurocontrol operations, which manages operations and control of air traffic across Europe.
Heathrow is the second most common international airport in the world behind Dubai, according to the OAG travel data group.
The London Fire Brigade said in a statement early on Friday that 10 fire trucks and around 70 firefighters were sent to tackle a large fire in an electrical substation in Hayes, near Heathrow, where a transformer has appeased.
The declaration did not mention the airport, but he said that the fire had “caused a power failure affecting a large number of local houses and businesses”, and teams from Hayes, Heathrow, Hillingdon, Southall and other nearby fire station were mobilized.
He added that the cause of the fire was not known.
“This is a very visible and important incident, and our firefighters work tirelessly in difficult conditions to control the fire as quickly as possible,” said assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne.
“It will be an extended incident, with crews remaining on the scene throughout the night. As we head to the morning, the disturbance should increase, and we urge people to avoid the area as far as possible. ”
A 200 -meter cord was established in the region and around 150 people were evacuated, according to firefighters.
Local residents were also invited to keep the windows and closed doors “due to the large quantity of smoke”.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said that an unexpected power failure affected more than 16,000 houses in southwest London. The public service said that “on the basis of initial surveys”, it aimed to restore electricity at 3 p.m. Friday.
