London's Heathrow Airport to remain shut today after massive fire

India Today

London's Heathrow Airport will remain shut for the day after a massive fire that happened nearby an electrical substation caused a significant power outage.

Transcript

00:00I have news coming in from London. There's been a power outage at the Heathrow Airport.

00:04Remember, one of the busiest airports in the world. London's Heathrow Airport will be shut

00:09on Friday because of a power outage that's been caused by a fire. We are told that due

00:14to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow Airport is experiencing

00:19a significant power outage, which of course will impact the services, especially with

00:24regard to the takeoff, landing and more. To maintain the safety of our passengers and

00:29colleagues, a statement says, Heathrow will be closed on 21st of March. Passengers are

00:35advised not to travel to the airport. They should contact their airline for further information.

00:40We apologise for the inconvenience. Shashank Mattu joins me for the latest on that. Shashank,

00:45I can only imagine the hundreds of flights and services that will be impacted. What are

00:49you picking up about this fire, the details, and when will they be able to get back up?

00:55Well, Pooja, what's exactly happened is that the airport is being closed because of a fire

01:01that took place at an electricity substation in West London. And because of that, you know,

01:07you've had a massive evacuation, around 16,000 homes actually have lost their power because

01:12of this raging fire at this substation. What we know at this point in time is that there

01:17are dozens of firefighters on the scene in West London trying to put out this fire at

01:24this electric substation. But what we know at this point in time is that the fire has

01:27gone out and around 150 people have been evacuated from the surrounding region and a cordon has

01:34been placed around the region to put the fire out. Once that happens, we'll see and examine

01:40with an assessment and there is an assessment of why exactly this has happened. We should

01:44see in some sense a resumption of service at Heathrow Airport, which is in many ways

01:51England's top international airport, which allows a lot of international travel into

01:56London, absolutely crucial for British authorities. We'll be hoping to get the airport back up

02:01and running as soon as possible.

02:04Shashankar, stay on with me because I have visuals coming in. That's the fire that's

02:08being reported from near the airport. This was at an electric substation that's happened

02:13in West London. But remember, this could impact any sort of work that is being done, possibly

02:20at the airport. And perhaps, can we say, Shashank, that it's more of a precautionary measure

02:25that the airport perhaps anticipating that there could be disruptions and therefore to

02:30at least be able to shut for the next one day. But are you hearing of any disruptions

02:36in take-off and landings right away?

02:39Well, at this point in time, the airport has been closed and the airport has confirmed

02:44that it will be closed until midnight tonight. So I assume there will be a disruption happening

02:48because as you said, the fire has broken out near Heathrow at the station. And as the visuals

02:52will show, it is a massive inferno that requires really dozens of firefighters to put it out.

02:5716,000 homes have lost power in West London. 150 people have been evacuated, which gives

03:03you a sense of the scale of how big this is. So the idea would be that the blaze has to

03:08be put out to ensure that it does not spread and does not then pose a greater risk to the

03:14passengers as well as to people who work at Heathrow. And therefore the airport will just

03:19try to make sure that once the fire has been put out and we get the signals that they will

03:25resume operations in really England's largest airport.

03:29Stay on with me, Shashank, because remember we are talking about one of the busiest airports

03:34right now, Heathrow Airport, where hundreds of flights take off, land on a daily basis.

03:42We are told that after a fire at an electrical substation, it's caused a significant power outage.

03:47The details that are coming in, the spokesperson has said that there is no clarity on when

03:52the airport would resume operations. So this is also going to be important because while

03:58it has been shut at least for one day, passengers have been advised not to travel to the airport.

04:04It would be closed. So just in case you know someone who possibly has to use the airport

04:10in any way, perhaps this would be an important message to send out to them.

04:13A statement has come in that to maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues,

04:16Heathrow will be closed.

04:18The London Fire Brigade has also said a transformer within the substations was alight.

04:2210 fire engines, 70 firefighters on the scene right now.

04:27I'm sure emergency services are already at work right now, Shashank, but tell us more

04:33about this airport because I know that this is one of the busiest without a doubt when

04:39it comes to not just for England, for London, but for across the world.

04:43Absolutely, you're right. In fact, the fifth busiest airport in the world,

04:48handles around 1,300 flights every single day.

04:52Really, again, it is England's number one international airport.

04:57Of course, it has a network of domestic airports, but it is the top international airport.

05:02It facilitates billions of pounds coming into the US economy every single year.

05:08You're absolutely right. It is a crucial link between England as well as the world.

05:14And that's exactly why we're seeing these efforts, not only to put out the flames,

05:18but also hopefully to get Heathrow back in action as soon as possible.

05:22Because as I said, 1,300 flights every day, billions of pounds coming into the British economy,

05:28billions of passengers coming in every year, and really the fifth busiest airport in the world.

05:32It really is a national asset.

05:34Talk with me, as I look at these flames, I want to just tell the viewer.

05:37For example, in 2024, Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe,

05:41the fourth busiest in the world by international passenger traffic after Dubai,

05:46second busiest with international passenger traffic after Dubai, and fourth busiest in the world.

05:52But Shashank, as I look at these flames, it's not just about the airport.

05:56Airport is also taking precautionary measures.

05:59You're also telling us about the homes of Londoners who have lost the power right now.

06:04This means that in many ways the city also has been impacted because of this power outage.

06:10Absolutely, what we're hearing at this point in time is that significant power outages

06:18are in darkness at this point in time.

06:22In some cases, it's 16,000 homes by some extent, perhaps even more.

06:28That's what electricity network companies are putting out.

06:31It's precisely because of this power substation problem.

06:35We've also had dozens of people be evacuated from their homes to ensure that

06:40the blaze does not reduce their homes and that they are in no way impacting their ability.

06:45Thousands of people right now in really one of the world's busiest capitals without power

06:50because of the massive fire that has broken out at these electric substations.

06:57Alright, Shashank Mattu will be tracking all the latest on that.

07:00There's been a power outage because of this fire,

07:03but the impact across the city of London at the Heathrow airport.

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