Heathrow Airport in London is closed with fire and affects global traffic economy
Heathrow Airport in London, the largest in Europe, was forced to close throughout the day on Friday (21) due to the power outage after a fire, which led to the blackout.
“To ensure safety, the airport will remain closed by 11:59 pm (8:59 pm in Brasilia) on March 21.”
The closure of Heathrow will affect at least 1,351 flights, at least that originated and directed at the airport, according to Flighttarda.
Heathrow is connected to 80 countries and runs 1,300 take -off and drop daily, causing 230,000 passengers across their outskirts every day.
Firefighters said that the power outage was the cause of a large fire that started at 11:23 pm on Thursday at the electric sub -station in Hayes, the west of London, which provides energy for the airport.
The Fire Department announced at about 8 am on Friday that “it was able to control the fire and prevent it from spreading.”
About 120 flights to the airport were on the air when the closure was announced.
Two flights in Gantas had to be transferred to Perth, Australia, Singapore Airport and Singapore, to Charles de Gaulle in Paris, according to the Australian airline.
Seven United flights had to return to the original airport or to direct them to other destinations, according to the American company.
The Spanish airport operator reported that the date of 54 flights was set for Friday, especially from Madrid and Barcelona, with a destination or origin in Heathrow.
Gatwick Airport, south of London, announced that it has started receiving flights to land on Heathrow.
At Changi Airport in Singapore, a couple told flying to London to Agence France -Presse that he was in the departure area when the cancellation was notified.
“They kept a hotel for us and said they would warn us of the next available trip. It was all that we told us,” the couple explained.
British Airways announced that the closure “will have a great impact on our operations and customers, so we are working as soon as possible to inform them of their travel options for 24 hours and then.”
In addition to the airport facilities, a large number of local homes and companies were affected by fire, according to a spokesman for the Fire Department Pat Gulborn.
After the fire was discovered, 150 people were removed from the area and the surroundings of the safety of 200 meters were distinguished.
Firefighters asked the population to keep their windows closed due to the smoke of heavy fire, and they asked people to avoid the area.
British Energy Minister Ed Miliband said his government was his best to restore energy in Heathrow.
Blackout pointed to 100,000 homes without energy at night, but the energy was restored in the entire region, with the exception of about 4000 homes.
Heathrow was built, 25 km west of London, in 1946, the five largest airports serving the British capital.
Upon reaching its ability, the British government gave a green light in January to build a third path after years of money against expansion by the local population.
The work is expected to be completed by 2035.
Among nearly 200 advanced destinations, Dublin, Los Angeles, Madrid and New York are the most popular.
Nearly 84 million passengers at the airport passed in 2024, a third of them coming from the neighboring European Union.
These numbers make them the most crowded in Europe, ahead of Paris Airport (70 million), Chibhoul Airport in Amsterdam (67) and Paraguas Airport in Madrid (66).
Throughout the world, Heathrow was the second most crowded international airports after Dubai last year, according to Oag Travel Data Company.
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