Thousands of Flights Canceled Worldwide as Heathrow Airport Fire Halts Operations

A fire at Heathrow Airport caused widespread flight cancellations, affecting global aviation and transportation.

The busiest transportation hub in Europe, London's Heathrow Airport, had to cancel flights for many passengers after a fire caused the airport to close for the day.  At least 1,350 flights have already been impacted, according to FlightRadar 24, with some of them being canceled from U.S. sites to and from Heathrow. The worldwide aviation industry is impacted by Heathrow's closure.

London is one of the primary destinations for Dubai-based long-haul carrier Emirates, which on Friday alone canceled six round-trip flights to Heathrow. Etihad canceled two round-trip flights in nearby Abu Dhabi and rerouted one plane to Frankfurt, Germany.

According to a British government minister, the electrical substation that provides electricity to Heathrow Airport and a backup generator were both destroyed by a "catastrophic" fire. Although it's too soon to determine the cause, he stated that lessons regarding "protection and the resilience that is in place for major institutions like Heathrow" must be learned.

The London Fire Brigade reports that the electrical substation fire at Heathrow Airport is under control. The fire created a widespread power outage that halted thousands of flights, local businesses, and thousands of homes.

According to LFB Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne, the fire was put out just after eight in the morning. He described the fire as a highly noticeable and serious incident and explained that the firemen worked tirelessly in difficult conditions to quickly suppress the blaze. He praised them for their organized multiple agencies response and for preventing the fire from spreading further.

Tracking agencies reported that other aircraft were diverted to Gatwick Airport west of London, Shannon Airport in Ireland, and Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris.  National Rail canceled all trains to and from the airport.