Massive fire at an electric substation halts operations at Europe’s busiest airport
A major power outage at London’s Heathrow Airport, triggered by a fire at an electric substation, disrupted 19 daily flights from India on Friday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Airlines, including Air India, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic, were forced to cancel, divert, or return flights, causing widespread travel chaos, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Mass Flight Disruptions Impact Travelers
Air India reported severe disruptions, with one flight returning to Mumbai, another from Delhi diverted to Frankfurt, and multiple others canceled. While the airline operates six daily flights to Heathrow with 1,843 seats, its services to London Gatwick remained unaffected.
British Airways, operating eight daily flights between India and Heathrow—including routes from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad—also faced cancellations. Virgin Atlantic, which runs five daily flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and
Bengaluru, announced that all arrivals and departures were canceled until 21:30 on March 21, with further schedule reviews ongoing.
Thousands of Passengers Left in Limbo
The global impact of Heathrow’s shutdown was significant. On March 20 and 21, a total of 1,315 flights carrying 286,777 passengers were scheduled to land at Heathrow. Additionally, 669 departing flights carrying 145,000 travelers were affected.
In India, all six flights from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) to Heathrow were canceled. Two flights—BA142 and AI161—were already airborne when the closure was announced and had to be diverted to Munich and Frankfurt, respectively.
From Mumbai airport, British Airways operates three daily flights, while Air India and Virgin Atlantic run two each. One of them, AI129, had to return to Mumbai after takeoff. In Bengaluru, a total of five flights were affected.
As airlines scramble to rebook passengers and reschedule flights, travelers remain stranded with limited options amid the unprecedented airport shutdown.
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