Watch: Heathrow Airport closed and more than 1,000 fights cancelled after huge fire causes blackout

Watch a view from Heathrow Airport after a huge fire at a west London electrical substation on Friday (21 March) forced the airport to close.

The airport is expected to remain closed until at least midnight tonight after experiencing a major power outage following a fire at a Hayes electrical substation.

Passengers have been asked not to travel to the airport “under any circumstances”, while British Airways said it would not be operating flights out of its global hub “until further notice”.

“Significant disruption is expected over the coming days,” a Heathrow spokesperson said.

At least 1,351 flights to or from Heathrow today will be directly impacted, flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said. That doesn’t account for the inevitable knock-on effects from the all-day shutdown.

A statement from the airport said fire crews were responding to the accident but there was no clarity on when power would be restored.