London Heathrow airport shut down following fire

London Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports and Europe’s largest, was shut down on 21 March 2025 following a power outage caused by a fire.

On the night of 20 to 21 March, a fire broke out at an electricity substation in the West London suburb of Hayes, which supplies power to the airport. The fire was successfully contained by the morning of 21 March.

London Heathrow typically handles approximately 1,300 flights a day, and its closure caused widespread disruptions to global air traffic, with several flights either cancelled or diverted.

The airport began gradually resuming operations on the night of 21 March.

The exact cause of the fire remains unknown.It also caused significant disruptions to the railway network serving the region, bringing it to a standstill.