Global Travel Disruption After Power Outage Shuts London’s Heathrow Airport

The global transport hub is closed until midnight, after a fire at a nearby substation caused a power outage, with over 1,300 flights canceled so far.

A fire at the North Hyde electrical substation, which caught fire Thursday night and lead to a closure of Heathrow Airport in London, on March 21 2025. London Fire Brigade via AP

London’s Heathrow Airport closed on Friday after a fire at a nearby electrical substation, causing travel disruption for hundreds of thousands of passengers around the globe.

About 150 people were evacuated after a transformer within the North Hyde electrical substation on Nestles Avenue in Hayes caught fire, according to the London Fire Brigade. The cause of the fire remains unclear.