21-03-25, 08:12
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Global CHAOS; Heathrow-Worlds Biggest Airport Closes Due to HUGE Fire
Global CHAOS; Heathrow-Worlds Biggest Airport Closes For at Least 24 Hours Due to HUGE Fire at Electrical Substation
Heathrow Diversions Rippling Across The World Over All Day Power Outage
200,000 flights are cancelled after blaze at power station and thousands are forced to land in other countries or return home
BBC 21 MAR 2025
About 150 people were evacuated from their homes because of the blaze and 16,000 properties near Heathrow have been left without power. Its not yet clear what caused the fire.
Travellers around the world have braced for days of chaos as a devastating 24-hour closure at Heathrow Airport sparked mid-air flight diversions and dozens of cancellations.
One of the worlds busiest airports which facilitates upwards of 200,000 travelers a day was forced to shut down on Friday after a fire at a nearby substation caused a major power outage.
American fliers hoping to land at Heathrow appeared to make a rapid U-turns late on Friday EST as the fire raged and word of the closure spread, according to FlightRadar.
In total, 120 planes which are already in the air are being diverted or turned around, in addition to flights that have been delayed and cancelled as a result of the incident.
Passengers from as far as San Francisco, Japan and Perth, Australia were caught in the carnage, with an estimated 1,351 flights to and from Heathrow expected to be impacted as the day goes on.
That means as many as 145,000 travelers could be affected by the closure, according to aviation-data firm Cirium.
Planes from Dallas, Chicago and Minneapolis all appeared to be returning home after up to three hours in the air.
Passengers on other flights departing from the United States will instead touch down at other airports across the nation. One flight from Dallas will travel to Bangor, Maine instead of London, while a flight from San Francisco will land at Dulles International.
Flight US 146 from Newark was among one of the first flights impacted by the diversion while already in the air. It is now set to land in Shannon in Ireland shortly after 5am. It was scheduled to land at Heathrow at 5.55am.
Meanwhile the QF9 Qantas flight from Perth to Heathrow has been diverted to Paris as European airports prepare for an influx of planes that are too far into their journeys to turn back.
Amsterdam, Newfoundland in Canada and Helsinki are among some of the cities accepting diverted flights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2np745xyQ7o
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