A Fire at Europe’s Biggest Airport Is Causing Thousands of Travel Disruptions Worldwide

A transformer fire at an electrical substation near Heathrow Airport triggered one of the most significant infrastructure failures in recent UK aviation history, shutting down the country’s busiest airport for a full day and affecting hundreds of thousands of travelers worldwide.

The fire broke out just before midnight on Thursday, March 20, in Hayes, west London. According to the London Fire Brigade, the blaze involved a transformer containing 25,000 litres of cooling fluid, and rapidly escalated into a critical incident. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described it as “an unprecedented event,” according to the BBC, noting that the fire disabled both a substation and a back-up generator.

By midday Friday, Heathrow’s terminals remained closed to both arrivals and departures, with more than 1,300 flights affected and approximately 145,000 passengers stranded. At least 120 in-air diversions were reported, with flights rerouted to airports in Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels, Helsinki, and as far afield as Reykjavik. Other planes were forced to return to their departure points mid-flight.

Heathrow, which nearly 80 million passengers passed through in 2023, serves as a vital global transit hub. The abrupt cessation of operations had ripple effects across the aviation ecosystem. Airlines scrambled to reroute aircraft and launch “rescue flights,” while alternate airports — Gatwick, Stansted, and Dublin — reported cascading delays and cancellations. Ryanair introduced emergency services between Dublin and London Stansted to accommodate displaced travelers.

Although counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation, authorities emphasize there is no current indication of foul play. Still, the severity of the incident has sparked renewed scrutiny over the resilience of the UK’s critical infrastructure. The backup systems, while operating as designed, were not created to power the entire airport.

Industry analysts estimate the shutdown could cost the aviation sector more than £20 million (nearly $26 million) per day. Locally, the fire left 16,000 homes without electricity and prompted criticism over delayed communication with residents.

By Friday evening, Heathrow began a phased resumption of limited operations, with British Airways authorized to launch a small number of outbound long-haul flights. Full service is expected to resume by Saturday, according to airport officials. The government has temporarily lifted overnight flight restrictions to ease the congestion, and train operators are honoring flexible ticketing for affected travelers.

Affected travelers are encouraged to contact airlines directly for compensation on canceled or heavily delayed flights (yes, even non-refundable tickets are eligible). Those with travel insurance may be able to have hotels and reservations that can’t be completed reimbursed as well.