TERROR FEARS Terror cops lead probe into blaze which sparked Heathrow Airport carnage as govt say it could be shut for DAYS
TERROR cops are leading a probe into a blaze which sparked carnage at Heathrow – with Downing Street saying the airport could be shut for days.
An inferno broke out at an electrical station in Hayes, West London, at around 11pm last night and sparked a major power outage.
Despite the carnage, Heathrow Airport announced in their latest update this afternoon it is “safely able to begin some flights later today”.
The airport will be focusing on repatriation flights for passengers who were diverted to other airports in Europe, a spokesperson said.
BA has since confirmed eight planes will take off from the airport this evening.
Passengers are now expected to make their way to airport for the flights.
In a statement, the airline said: “We are now urgently contacting customers to let them know so they can make their way to the airport from 5pm.
“The only customers who should make their way to Heathrow Airport are those booked onto the following flights.”
They include trips to Johannesburg, Singapore, Riyadh, Cape Town, Sydney via Singapore and Buenos Aires via Rio de Janeiro.
As investigations continue, it is understood officers from the Met Police SO15 counter-terrorism command have attended the fire site..
They are being kept updated with details of the sub-station blaze as part of routine enquiries.
There is no suggestion of any terrorist or foreign state involvement in the fire at this stage.
But even so, fears have been expressed that Putin may be behind the blaze as experts warn it “bears all hallmarks” of a Russian sabotage plot.
The fire follows a chilling wave of Russian intelligence-linked fires, bomb plots, and even assassination attempts across Europe
Mad Vlad’s crony Dmitry Medvedev penned a remark on X amid the Heathrow shut down.
“I’m looking forward to Russia being blamed for the Heathrow fire,” he wrote.
“What are you waiting for, Starmer?”
Meanwhile, in the US, news anchors have been ridiculing Britain and the chaos unfolding.
Presenting Fox News this morning, host Ainsley Earhardt said: “What a mess, Friday and Spring Break.”
To which reporter Greg Palkot, on the ground at Heathrow, replied: “You got it right, what a mess is correct.”
CNN presenter Isabel Rosales also reacted and told viewers: “What a major headache.
“So many questions that need to be answered and reflection that needs to happen on how a single substation could take out the back-up power source of such a critical airport.”
In their latest update UK’s National Grid said Heathrow is now reconnected to substation on interim basis.
However, it will still take some time before the airport is back in action.
“The network has been reconfigured to restore all customers impacted, including the ability to resupply the parts of Heathrow airport that are connected to North Hyde,” a National Grid spokesperson said.
“This is an interim solution while we carry out further work at North Hyde to return the substation and our network to normal operation.”
An expert electrical engineer, Tom Watters, said he believes the fire was caused by a catastrophic failure of an “oil-filled transformer”.
He told MailOnline the substation has “very old” equipment and blamed a “lack of investment” for the blaze.
“The design of the substation while being ok is also very old style. Modern substations are normally enclosed using gas as the insulation,” the engineer added.
A report for London Mayor Sadiq Khan in 2022 also found issues problems with electricity supply in the Heathrow area.
It warned the fireball substation had been running at 106.2 per cent.
This comes as British Airways Chairman and CEO , Sean Doyle, released a statement this afternoon.
BA is the biggest operator at Heathrow, with 51 per cent of flights, including 341 scheduled inbound flights.
Mr Doyle said: “I wanted to a take a few moments to give you an update on how the closure of London Heathrow is impacting British Airways today and what that means for our operation over the coming days.
“As a result of a fire at a power station which started in the early hours of this morning, we’ve been forced to effectively ground our flying operation, cancelling every short-haul and the majority of long-haul flights that were scheduled to operate throughout today.
“This is an unprecedented situation, and we have not seen a closure of Heathrow of this scale for many years. Unfortunately, it will have a huge impact on all of our customers flying with us over the coming days.”
Mr Doyle told how his team are “working extremely hard” to resolve the issue and support customers.
This means “all available resources” have been drafted in to man phone lines and extend opening times.
“If you are travelling over the weekend we are also putting regular updates on ba.com and the Manage My Booking section of our website and app,” he added.
The CEO confirmed even when full power is restored, there will be “a substantial impact on our airline…for days to come”.
He told ticket-holders to expected “disruption” over the coming days.
“To give you an idea of the scale of disruption we face which we’re working to minimise, today we were due to operate more than 670 flights carrying around 107,000 customers, with similar numbers planned over the weekend,” Mr Doyle continued.
“In addition, our engineering and maintenance operation have also had no power. This is being addressed but is another example of the incredibly challenging situation we find ourselves in.”
Earlier today Downing Street would not say whether it is confident Heathrow Airport will be fully reopened by Saturday.
Asked whether this would be the case, a No 10 spokesman said: “Well, it’s clearly a fast-moving situation.”
He added: “The fire is still burning and I’m aware that the airport has announced a complete closure until midnight tonight as a result of the situation.
“It will be for emergency services and Heathrow to update on timescales for when this situation will be resolved. We do expect there will be significant direct disruption in the hours and days ahead.”
There was a “cross-government call” on Friday morning to deal with the immediate aftermath of the fire, the spokesman said.
He added: “The Department for Transport is working closely with Heathrow Airport, Nats (National Air Traffic Services) and all key operators to understand the situation and ensure a quick resolution so that the airport can reopen and flights resume as quickly as possible, and clearly we will do everything we can to support those affected and get things moving again.”
The fire at a power station on Nestles Avenue, and subsequent power outage, has since closed the busiest airport in Europe until 11.59pm today – causing travel chaos and leaving thousands stranded.
London Fire Brigade’s deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said in their latest update at 11am: “As of the most recent update that I have received, approximately 10% remains alight.”
The substation fire involved 25,000 litres of cooling oil fully alight, Mr Smith revealed.
He confirmed 67,000 households were left without power after the fire, and 5,000 are still cut off.
Mr Smith added how there is still no power in Heathrow’s terminals two or four.
When questioned about counter-terror police investigations, the deputy commissioner said all he could confirm was a Met Police probe.
“As you will appreciate, I won’t be able to comment on the investigations of the Metropolitan Police,” he told reporters at a press conference.
“All I can say is the Metropolitan Police are investigating the cause of this fire, ably assisted by our fire investigation officers.
“We will, of course, assist with that process.”
Sir Keir Starmer thanked the emergency services in a post to X.
The Prime Minister said: “I know the situation in Heathrow is causing distress and disruption, especially for those travelling or without power in their homes.
“I’m receiving regular updates and I’m in close contact with partners on the ground.
“Thanks to our emergency workers for keeping people safe.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has now spoken to Thomas Woldbye, the Heathrow chief executive.
Ms Alexander said: “This morning, I spoke with Heathrow Airport’s chief executive to hear the latest on the unprecedented power outage and I am reassured they’re working tirelessly to reopen the airport as soon as possible.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in responding to this situation – particularly the emergency workers who have worked to contain the fire and keep everyone safe.
“I appreciate how disruptive this situation is for passengers, but until they hear otherwise, the advice remains to avoid travelling to Heathrow.”
The shut-down has had a huge knock-on affect across the country as flights bound for Heathrow were diverted to other airports.
Crowds and queues were seen at Gatwick, Manchester and Edinburgh airports and even in Paris as long-haul flights were forced to land there.
And the impact is set to be felt for days to come.
A driver who witnessed the inferno, and its shocking aftermath, described it as “absolutely apocalyptic”.
Adeel Anwar told Sky News: “The sky was darkening and it was just a scene that was chaotic. It looked like something out of a movie.”
He said he could feel heat emanating from the blaze with his window down.
“I tried to just get out of the area as quickly as possible. I was not messing around there,” added Adeel.
“You have to make a split decision. I’m not stopping to look around at something that is massive in size and just billowing black smoke.”
In total, the airport closure is expected to impact more than 2,000 flights, according to Cirium.
Early this morning, 120 planes already circulating Heathrow airspace are being diverted or turned around.
Passengers from across the globe, from San Francisco to Australia have been impacted, with around 2,000 flights to and from Heathrow set to be affected.
The airport was set to welcome 665 departures today, which is around 145,094 seats.
A further 669 flights were also due to arrive today, equating to 145,836 seats.
In total the airport was expected to see over 2,000 scheduled flights today, flying up 291,000 passengers.
British Airways has the largest share of flights from the airport, 51 per cent, followed by Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa.
Rail services to and from Heathrow – which more than 200,000 people travel through every day – have also been cancelled today, National Rail said.
It comes as thousands of homes are also without power after the blaze broke out at a substation in Hayes, West London, shortly after 11pm on Thursday.
A spokesman for Heathrow has said: “Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation.
“Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored.
The carnage continues this morning as weary travellers reported being told their holiday had been scrapped less than an hour before departure.
Devastated holidaymakers have been waiting with suitcases outside terminals after being turned away.
Shocking footage has also revealed the extent of damage caused by the blaze.
Fire crews remain at the scene, on Nestles Avenue in Hayes, this morning and continue to douse the area with water.
Heathrow worker tells The Sun: ‘Nobody knows what’s going to happen today or the day after’
By Ryan Merrifield
A Heathrow worker has told The Sun airport staff are currently on standby and could be recalled later today if the issue is resolved sooner than expected.
The worker, who did not wish to be named, said: “We are on standby, I was due to work today – there’s a chance we could get asked to go back to work later today.
“We do have late flights, and they may need to move schedules around. They always ask you to be on standby just in case.
“Everything lies with Heathrow, but all the airlines and companies have a contingency plan.
“The possibility is always there that they reopen early once the power problem is sorted.”
He went on to say tomorrow “is going to be probably pretty hectic”.
“It’s 311 aircraft landing and flying out, it is a huge impact – so tomorrow it will be like crazy, and not just tomorrow, it will take time to absorb the impact.”
He added: “We are trained for these types of scenarios and we know what to expect. But nobody knows what’s going to happen today or the day after.”
He said when he realised the power was off in the area and the substation was on fire, initially he feared it was an attack from Vladimir Putin.
“I was a bit concerned… first thing that comes to mind was ‘I hope it’s not Russia taking over the power plant’,” he said.
He was then called by a supervisor at around 3am to be told not to come to work but to remain available and wait for any updates.
White smoke can still be seen rising from the scorched wreckage.
London Fire Brigade reported 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters arrived just before 6am with part of a transformer still on fire.
The fire brigade evacuated 29 people nearby and another 150 people from a 200-metre precautionary cordon around the site.
Terror cops were called to the scene but it was part of routine enquiries and there is no suggestion of any terrorist or foreign state involvement in the fire.
A National Grid spokesperson said the fire damaged equipment and crews were “working at speed to restore power supplies as quickly as possible”.
The fire was brought under control at around 8am.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband told BBC Breakfast: “My understanding from the grid is 100,000 homes were without power as a result of this fire overnight.
“The figure they gave to me a short time ago was that that’s down now to 4,000.
“But, obviously, this is a fast-moving situation and we will be doing everything we can to work with grid on the work they’re doing to restore power.”
Asked how the fire was able to disrupt the UK’s busiest airport, Mr Miliband added: “We don’t know the cause of this fire. It’s obviously an unprecedented event.
“But I think what you’re right to say is we will want to understand both the causes of this event and what lessons, if any, it can teach us.”
Crisis mode
By Lisa Minot, Head of Travel
HEATHROW’S closure is likely to cause massive disruption in the coming days as more than 200,000 impacted passengers struggle to get to their destination.
The largest previous impact on Heathrow – and airports across Europe – was the closure of airspace following the volcanic ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland in April 2010 which saw disruption over five days.
Today alone, 1,351 flights were due to take off and land at the UK’s largest airport. More than 120 flights were already in the air and on their way to Heathrow when the fire broke out.
Planes have been diverted to airports across the UK and Europe.
Those who managed to land at a UK airport should count themselves lucky as they can at least continue their journey back to Heathrow via road or rail.
But it is going to cause significant disruption for hundreds of thousands of travellers today and in the coming days.
Right now, the airport and airlines are in crisis mode but in the coming weeks, no doubt questions will be asked as to how we can protect critical infrastructure and prevent this happening again.
The Energy Secretary also told LBC there is “no suggestion of foul play” in the fire.
He said: “We’ve got to get power restored as quickly as possible and Heathrow opened as quickly as possible.
“But the truth it’s going to take time to unwind the disruption for obvious reasons.
“There’s no suggestion there is any foul play.”
Speaking to Sky News, he added: “There was a backup generator but it was also affected by the fire, which gives a sense of how unusual and unprecedented it was.
“There’s a second back-up which they are seeking to use to restore power.”
Meanwhile Mayor of London Sadiq Khan shared on X: “I know this will be hugely frustrating for the many thousands expecting to travel to and from Heathrow today, the families who have had their power cut and the commuters who have had their journeys disrupted.
“Electricity suppliers are working hard to restore power, but Heathrow Airport have said they will be closed all day and has warned of significant disruption over the coming days.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport under any circumstances and I urge Londoners to follow the advice of emergency services and their travel providers.”
It comes as FlightRadar24 shows aircraft being diverted to a range of airports including those in Germany, France, Ireland and Manchester.
The diversions include one flight from London to Bangkok which reached Brussels before having to return to Heathrow.
Flights from Johannesburg and Perth into the capital are also having to land at Gatwick Airport.
FRUSTRATED HOLIDAYMAKERS
Ladelle Hash, 47, organiser of a group of 31 New Mexico tourists, is trying to get home after a week in Scotland.
She said: ”We got on our coach at around 4 o’clock this morning to get to the airport three hours early. As we were gathering our bags, we found out that Heathrow was closing.
”We’ve just been waiting – I’m trying to reroute us.
”One of my travellers that was going to another state has been booked, but she’s going through Rome now.
It’s an absolute nightmare. We’re stressed and desperately waiting to try and figure out what’s going on
Hadley Davydaitis
“She’s getting over to Rome, before going to Philadelphia and then to Chicago – she’s going to be all over the place.
”I’m just hoping that they’ll get us flown to another big city by this afternoon – hopefully Dublin or Paris, so we can still get home, just a bit later than we’d hoped.”
Fellow passengers Andrew Sri, his wife and their three young children, had travelled to England from Dallas, Texas, to visit Andrew’s sister Andrea, who lives in Greenwich, east London.
They were meant to catch their return flight to Dallas on Friday but were told on arrival at Heathrow that the airport was closed.
“I just wish they had updated us accordingly,” Mr Sri said.
“At the moment, the schedule on our flight says it’s delayed, so that’s why we drove out. So now we’ve got here and they told us, actually the airport’s been shut down, so it’s a little bit disappointing.”
His three children, aged eight to one year old, were asleep in the car.
“Obviously something happened and they’re taking precautions, and we understand that. We just wish we were given a heads-up warning not to come here.”
Meanwhile a British Airways customer said she risks losing nearly £1,500.
Maria La Chica, 47, from Basingstoke, was due to fly from Heathrow to Washington DC at midday on Friday and was excited about watching her favourite ice hockey team, the Washington Capitals.
The project manager told the PA news agency she felt “quite annoyed” as her flight with BA is currently delayed.
“I had really been looking forward to this (trip). It was like my treat to myself having had some personal events, so it’s just very annoying,” she said.
“I’ve had this (trip) booked for a little bit. The most important player of the (ice hockey) team is about to beat a record, so I wanted to see them before this record was done, but it’s not going to happen now.”
It’s going to be a chaotic couple of days
Henry Harteveldt
Ms La Chica considered booking alternative flights from other airports but her available options were “incredibly expensive” having already spent £600 on her flight, a further £600 on accommodation and around £250 on the ice hockey game tickets.
“My thinking is that (BA) are probably waiting until the very last minute to tell people that their flights are cancelled, but that is very frustrating… because they’re not actually cancelling my flight, it’s still saying delayed so I do not know if it’s going today or not.”
Hadley Davydaitis, 43, a resource planning manager, and girlfriend Katrina Harris, 40, a therapist were set to fly to the Central American paradise with Air Canada for 14 days.
He said: “It’s an absolute nightmare. We’re stressed and desperately waiting to try and figure out what’s going on.
“In theory, we should be on the next flight. But there’s going to be a huge backlog, is that going to be tomorrow, the next day?”
He said his girlfriend woke up early due to the excitement of the trip.
“I looked at my phone for a little bit and the first thing I saw was the headline about Heathrow.”
It was a dream destination for the couple.
“I’ve wanted to go since I was 18 – the wildlife, the biodiversity, everything else. Katrina, similarly, has been waiting to go for years now and now we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
‘LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE’
Neil Hansford, head of the Sydney-based Strategic Aviation Solutions consultancy, told The Guardian the fire has triggered a “logistical nightmare”.
Surrounding London airports such as Gatwick and Stansted would be unable to manage all of Heathrow’s diverted flights.
“These airports can’t take anything close to the volume of Heathrow’s five terminals, where there’s an arrival every minute,” said Hansford.
And travel experts say fall out from the disruption will be felt internationally.
“The other question is, ‘What will airlines do to deal with the backlog of passengers?’”, travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt with Atmosphere Research Group told the Tele.
“It’s going to be a chaotic couple of days.”
Rail and coach services suspended
Heathrow Express services from London’s Paddington station to and Heathrow Terminal 5 have been cancelled.
Meanwhile, the Elizabeth line between Abbey Wood and Heathrow Terminal 4 has been suspended.
The Elizabeth line between Shenfield / Abbey Wood and Heathrow Terminal 5 has also been cancelled.
Coach operator National Express also announced it has suspended all services to and from Heathrow until 11.59pm because of the airport’s closure.
It said: “Customers are advised not to travel to the airport today.
“Services to London Gatwick Airport, London Stansted Airport and London Luton Airport will operate as normal.
“National Express is proactively contacting customers who have already booked to travel to London Heathrow Airport today and is offering free amendments for those who are affected.
“More information is available at www.nationalexpress.com.”
A departure board in Singapore Changi Airport displayed an Air Portugal flight to London Heathrow as cancelled this morning.
Air India also announced its Heathrow-bound flight number AI129 from Mumbai is returning to Mumbai and flight AI161 from Delhi is being diverted to Frankfurt.
“All our remaining flights to and from London Heathrow, including AI111 of this morning, have been cancelled for 21 March,” the airline has said in a statement.
“We will update about resumption of operations as soon as we have more information. Flights to London Gatwick remain unaffected.”
Meanwhile, in the UK, Gatwick has taken on some of the diverted flights this morning.
Flights from Singapore, Johannesburg, Lagos, Cape Town and Doha were redirected.
A statement from a London Gatwick spokesperson said: “We are aware of the situation at Heathrow Airport today and we are supporting by accepting diverted flights as required. Flights are operating from London Gatwick as normal today.”
Birmingham Airport also said it was accepting diverted flights, a spokesman said: “There will be no delays to Birmingham Airport’s own customers, due to any diverted Heathrow aircraft into BHX.
“Airports regularly take diverts as part of normal operations, and flights inbound to London Heathrow will use multiple airports around the UK, and Ireland, or alternatively may return to their departure airport.
“We will assist with landing any diverted aircraft during the Heathrow closure today and work with those LHR airlines to repatriate their customers upon arrival into Birmingham.”
At least six flights will also land at Shannon Airport in Co Clare, Ireland.
A spokesperson for the Shannon Airport Group said: “We are closely monitoring the situation at Heathrow Airport and are providing support by accommodating diverted flights as needed and our team is on-site to assist with the additional passengers.
There was a backup generator but it was also affected by the fire, which gives a sense of how unusual and unprecedented it was
Ed Miliband
“So far, Shannon Airport has facilitated six diverted flights originally scheduled to land at Heathrow, including flights from Toronto, Atlanta, Bridgetown Barbados, Boston, Orlando and Newark.
“The first of these flights landed safely at 4.26am this morning.”
Pictures and videos taken from the airport in the early hours of the morning show areas of the site in darkness due to the loss of power.
The London Fire Brigade safely evacuated 150 people from surrounding properties and a 200-metre cordon was put in place as a precaution.
London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne called it a “significant incident” that will continue to cause issues throughout the day.
The London Ambulance Service reported no casualties or anyone treated for injuries at the scene of the fire.
The cause of the blaze is yet to be determined.
YOUR COMPENSATION RIGHTS
By James Flanders, Chief Consumer Reporter
UNDER UK law, airlines are required to pay compensation to passengers when their flights are delayed or cancelled.
However, you only have the right to compensation in some circumstances.
There are two key factors:
– How severely you have been inconvenienced – for instance, if you have only been delayed slightly, you may not be entitled to compensation.
– The cause of the delay – if the delay was caused by an “extraordinary circumstance” you will not be entitled to compensation.
Unfortunately for passengers due to travel today, airlines will largely view today’s circumstances as out of their control.
This would qualify as an “extraordinary circumstance” and justify their move not to pay out to affected customers.
However, if your cancelled flight falls under UK law, your airline is obligated to either provide you with a refund should you no longer wish to travel, or arrange for you to be rebooked on an alternative flight.
If you still want to travel, your airline must find you an alternative flight.
It’s up to you whether to fly as soon as possible after the cancelled flight, or at a later date that suits you.
Although most airlines will book you onto another of their flights to the same destination, if an alternative airline is flying there significantly sooner or other suitable modes of transport are available then you may have the right to be booked onto that alternative transport instead.
If you do take an alternative flight, you’re entitled to care and assistance while you wait, which usually means refreshments, access to communications.
You may also be entitled to accommodation and the necessary transfers if the flight is delayed until the next day or later and you’re stranded.
If your airline advises you to make alternative travel arrangements and claim back the cost later, you should incur reasonable costs and keep all receipts.
You should discuss this with your airline.
