Source of Heathrow fire revealed as counter terrorism probe continues – with thousands of flights disrupted amid global chaos

Watch the London Fire Brigade press conference below

London Fire Brigade has provided an update on the electricity substation fire which involved a transformer comprising of 25,000 litres of cooling oil fully alight.

Firefighters said the blaze has created a major hazard because of the ‘still live high voltage equipment’.

LFB said 67,000 households were left without power and currently 5,000 remain without any supplies.

There remains no power to Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 or Terminal 4.

This remains a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging and very hazardous conditions overnight to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible. As of the most recent update approximately 10% remains alight and we are working closely with SSE to safely resolve the incident.

London Fire Brigade deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said 29 people were safely evacuated from properties near to the substation fire.

A further 150 people were evacuated to a rest centre following the incident.

Fire safety and fire investigation officers are working with scientific advisers and the Metropolitan Police to investigate the cause of the fire, Mr Smith told broadcasters.

I would like to conclude by taking this opportunity to thank firefighters and control officers for their courage and professionalism to bring this incident under control, in what were very challenging circumstances.

Questions about how the fire near Heathrow caused so much disruption will need to be answered, Downing Street said, but insisted dealing with the incident was the current priority.

Asked if there would be an inquiry into how the fire at a single electricity substation had caused such disruption, a No 10 spokesman said:

There are questions to answer. We expect those questions to be answered but our clarity right now is on this incident being appropriately dealt with.

There is a fire still burning. So, there will be a time for that, but at the moment the priority is to deal with the incident.

The spokesman said it ‘wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect checks on resilience’ are being carried out at other major airports.

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.”‘

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.

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.

Let’s recap some of the most dramatic pictures of the day as a fire which broke out as an electricity substation resulted in the closure of Heathrow airport today.

The blaze began last night and knocked out power to the airport and tens of thousands of nearby homes, some of which have yet to see supplies fully restored.

It has caused major disruption for travellers in the UK and across the world with thousands of flights cancelled and diverted.

The fire broke out at North Hyde electrical substation in Hayes

Drivers are warned Heathrow was closed on the M25 this morning

Terminals usually bustling with people remain empty and without power

The fire was brought under control this morning but is not fully extinguished

by Richard Lemmer and Isaac Crowson

Heathrow’s closure has not affected the schedule at London Luton airport, according to staff, but nevertheless some passengers admitted they were ‘panicked’ about their own flights.

A representative from London Luton Airport said there had been ‘no impact on operations’ at the airport following Heathrow’s closure due to a power outage in the early hours of this morning. The representative said that at present no affected fights were being diverted to Luton.

Passengers who had planned to fly from Heathrow had travelled to Luton for alternate flights, according to staff at the main passenger help desk at the airport.

Meanwhile passengers set to fly from Luton said the chaos at Heathrow had left them concerned that their flights would be disrupted.

‘One hundred percent was I worried this morning,’ said Caroline McCann, a waitress travelling from Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

We’re going to a wedding in Hatfield, so we were worried our flights wound be changed. We thought this airport was going to be busy, but it’s been good here – it doesn’t seem to be affected.

Nicole Keeley, a care manager who flew from the Knock in the Republic of Ireland to Luton to visit family, said she had ‘panicked’ this morning when she saw the chaos at Heathrow.

I thought maybe our flight would be cancelled. Hopefully we will be okay, we’re flying back home from here.

Air traffic control provider Nats said many flights scheduled to land at Heathrow were unable to use other UK airports because of their ‘limited capacity’ to accommodate diversions.

We have been working closely with Heathrow Airport and with airlines to manage the disruption caused by the closure of the airport today.

We have well-rehearsed plans in place which in the early hours of this morning included a requirement for aircraft to either turn back or divert to a non-UK airport, as well as stopping other flights at their point of departure. This forms part of the aviation industry mass diversion plan.

While some flights were diverted to Gatwick and Manchester, other jets were rerouted to European cities including Paris and Frankfurt.

There was limited capacity at other UK airports to accommodate diversions, particularly of wide-bodied aircraft, which we have been communicating with our airline customers, and has resulted in many flights diverting to northern Europe.

Scheduled flights to other UK airports are unaffected.

Heathrow is the UK’s largest airport, with more than 83.9 million passengers travelling through its terminals in 2024.

Here are some key figures about the airport and the impact of its closure following a fire at an electrical substation.

• 229,000 passengers travel through Heathrow on an average day.
• 1,357 flights have been disrupted on Friday, including 679 arrivals and 678 departures.
• 120 flights were already in the air when the closure was announced.
• More than nine in 10 passengers using Heathrow are travelling to or from other countries. Of the 83.9 million passengers recorded at the airport in 2024, 78.8 million were using international services – 28.1 million for services with other EU countries and 50.7 million for non-EU countries. Domestic passenger traffic accounted for 5.0 million, or 6% of the total.
• Heathrow handled a total of 482,143 aircraft last year: 479,506 passenger aircraft and 2,637 cargo aircraft, Civil Aviation Authority data shows. This was the equivalent of around 1,317 aircraft a day.
• By comparison, the next busiest airport in the UK, Gatwick, handled 265,608 aircraft, or around 726 a day.
• The fire at the substation left 100,000 homes without power at the peak of the outage, later reduced to 4,000. 150 people were evacuated from surrounding properties and 200 emergency calls were made.

The Metropolitan Police said its Counter Terrorism Command was leading the investigation into the fire at an electrical substation in west London ‘given the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure.’

Heathrow Airport was forced to close on Friday after being impacted by the power outage at the North Hyde electrical substation in Hayes.

A spokesperson for the Met said there was ‘no indication of foul play’ but detectives ‘retain an open mind’ over the cause.

We are working with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation. While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time.

Given the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading enquiries.

This is due to the specialist resources and capabilities within that command that can assist is progressing this investigation at pace to minimise disruption and identify the cause

Hotel prices have surged by up to £946 after Heathrow Airport was forced to close after an electrical substation fire.

Furious travellers have hit out at hospitality firms for ‘profiting off people’s misfortune’ as costs skyrocketed on Friday.

One hotel close to the airport, North Avenue Guest House, was tonight charging £1,000 for a standard room for two people, compared to £54 next Friday.

While it will cost you £555 to stay at Radisson Red London Heathrow tonight, compared to £132 next Friday, according to prices on Booking.com.

Holiday Inn London Heathrow is charging £569 for standard room tonight but just £89 on March 28.

Read the full story here:

Sir Keir Starmer has now spoken about Heathrow for the first time by declaring he recognises the ‘distress and disruption’ caused by the fire.

The Prime Minister said he is receiving regular updates from the scene.

The fire at an electrical substation which has caused the shutdown at Heathrow airport has also resulted in six schools keeping its doors closed today.

Hillingdon Council has announced that a 200-metre cordon has been established with 150 people evacuated because of a ‘ significant amount of smoke’.

An update on the council’s website said that Nestles Avenue Early Years Centre, Pinkwell Children’s Centre, Pinkwell Primary School, Dr Triplett’s C of E Primary School and The Global Academy were all shut.

Botwell House Catholic Primary School was closed but will reopen this afternoon.

The M4 is closed between junction three and four while local bus services are subject to diversions and cancellations, it added

The Piccadilly Line is running as normal but not stopping at Terminal 4.

The Elizabeth Line is not running between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow while the Heathrow Express service is suspended.

It is unclear how quickly flights will resume at Heathrow once it reopens.

Heathrow has announced it is closed until 11.59pm, but the Government restricts the number of flights that are allowed to take off or land at the airport between 11.30pm and 6am each day.

The airport’s website states:

Sometimes planes need to operate in the night period when they have not been scheduled to do so. This could be for a number of reasons such as delays that have built up during the day or for a technical fault with an aircraft that needs to be repaired.

There is always a delicate balance to be struck as to whether a flight should be allowed at night, considering the effects on local communities, passengers and the airline network.

Passengers are still arriving at Heathrow this morning despite the airport closure which remains in place until at least midnight.

Elvina Quaison was hoping to fly from Heathrow to Dubai on Friday afternoon and travelled to the airport after being told by British Airways her flight was still going ahead.

Ms Quaison, who lives in London, was travelling to celebrate her niece’s 10th birthday.

She told the PA news agency:

I did see on the news everything that had happened and the airport was closed. I’m flying out to Dubai today. My flight’s meant to be at 12.40pm and I’d been checking the news, the websites and my emails. I’m flying with BA and they had said that we should keep an eye on our ‘manage my booking’ and it would give us an update as to what was happening with my flight.

So I got a message (at 8am) to say that my flight was departing and that I can go ahead as normal. So I’ve come to the airport to make the flight which I was told was flying today and I can’t get to the actual airport … I’m just about to call to see what to do.

It comes as London Mayor Sadiq Khan has told people not to travel to Heathrow today under any circumstances.

Counter terrorism police are now investigating an electrical substation fire that has shut London Heathrow Airport for the whole of today amid claims it could be a Russian sabotage attack linked to Vladimir Putin’s campaign of disruption.

More than 1,300 flights to and from the UK’s busiest airport will be impacted today due to its closure following a fire at the nearby North Hyde electrical substation.

Thousands of homes were left without power with more than 100 people evacuated after a transformer at the substation caught fire as a huge explosion was heard.

Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

They allege that the disruption campaign is an extension of President Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine – although the Kremlin has denied carrying out sabotage efforts against the West.

Read the full story here by Mark Duell, Elena Salvoni, James Tapsfield and Will Stewart

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has now released a statement urging passengers not to travel to Heathrow today under any circumstances.

Mr Khan said he understood the closure would be ‘hugely frustrating’ for thousands expecting to travel as well as those whose power supplies were disrupted.

Here is his full statement on X.

Coach operator National Express announced it has suspended all services to and from Heathrow until 11.59pm because of the airport’s closure.

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.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of independent travel agents, predicted that disruption from Heathrow’s closure will continue for several days.

An incident like this at one of the world’s busiest airports will have a very significant knock-on impact on all travel for the next few days. Of course, the priority for everyone is safety and the airport and the airlines will be working hard today to make sure the area is safe, and that they can resume operations as soon as possible.

Friday is typically the busiest day for travel, with people returning from business trips, going on holiday or visiting friends and family. London airports would have been busy today already and this incident will exacerbate it further.

The closure of Britain’s busiest airport has caused huge disruption for passengers flying to and from the UK today with many travelling over the weekend now fearing the worst.

But while Heathrow is out of action, some other airlines and airports have stepped in to help some of those stranded by today’s closure.

EasyJet, which does not operate at Heathrow, said it will use larger than planned aircraft on key routes on Friday and over the weekend to accommodate disrupted passengers.

Several flights between the UK and Milan, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich and Madrid will have A320 aircraft with capacity for 186 passengers, instead of A319 aircraft which can only carry 156 passengers.

While Ryanair said it is organising eight “rescue flights” between London Stansted and Ireland for passengers affected by the closure.

The airline said in a statement:

Ryanair will operate four extra flights between Dublin and Stansted on Friday afternoon as well as four extra flights on Saturday morning. These flights can be booked on from 9.30am this morning.

Shannon Airport in Co Clare accepted six diversions from Toronto, Atlanta, Bridgetown Barbados, Boston, Orlando and Newark.

And Gatwick has so far welcomed seven diverted flights from locations including Singapore, Johannesburg, Lagos, Cape Town and Doha which were originally destined for Heathrow

Vladimir Putin’s disruption campaign could be linked to the electrical substation fire that has shut London Heathrow Airport for the whole day, experts claimed today.

Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

They allege that the disruption campaign is an extension of President Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine – although the Kremlin has denied carrying out sabotage efforts against the West.

Now, experts are analysing whether Russia could be linked to the Heathrow fire, which is affecting 679 flights scheduled to land and 678 departures from the hub.

Security expert Will Geddes, director and founder of the International Corporate Protection Group, told MailOnline: ‘If I was a foreign hostile party and I wanted to disrupt one of the busiest airports in the world, cause international embarrassment, create many, many question marks, I would target something like a substation.

Read the full story here:

Scotland fans celebrate after a 1-0 win in Athens last night

Scotland’s football fans are among those caught up in the Heathrow disruption with many of the Tartan Army stranded in Greece following the country’s Nations League play-off last night in Athens.

BBC reporter Thomas Mackintosh said he was among the ‘fortunate’ supporters to board a flight to Gatwick after learning his original flight was cancelled at 5:30am this morning.

But others were looking at more complicated journeys back to the UK via different European cities including Istanbul.

For us, it meant having to check-in with another airline, then go through passport control and security again. The layout of Athens airport is one where you must clear passport control as the next step after you first scan your boarding pass at departures.

So, we had to get another stamp on our passport and a little mark from the border control officer to signal our situation.

We know of a few other Tartan Army friends who have tried to get flights back to Scotland via Dublin, Milan, and Rome. I’ve even heard Istanbul mentioned – so it gives you an idea of the fresh travel plans people are having to draw up and fork out for.

Passengers are being denied entry to the airport this morning

Passengers stranded at Heathrow are complaining the instructions on the airport’s website are ‘confusing’ as they spoke of their frustration this morning.

One man, who was expecting to fly to Miami for his son’s first day at university, said he travelled to Terminal 5 on foot with his suitcase only to be told not to enter.

The website shows ‘flight on time’. They only have a message not to come here, but to check updates.Updates are showing ‘flight on time’, but nobody is allowed to go in. So, it’s so confusing. We would not have come had the website said, ‘flight cancelled’.

Andrea Sri, whose brother Andrew, his wife, and his three children were expected to fly back to Dallas in Texas, where they live, said:

On the British Airways’ website, it says their flight is still scheduled for 12.03. All the other flights to Dallas were cancelled but their particular one just said delayed, so we just thought ‘maybe, there’s a chance. But we’ve come here and the police said no.

Ms Sri, from Greenwich in London, added: ‘It was a waste of time. Very confusing.’

All 34 flights between Dublin Airport and Heathrow on Friday have been cancelled, officials in Ireland have now confirmed.

Graeme McQueen, media relations manager at Dublin Airport Authority, said there were 17 outbound and 17 inbound flights scheduled for today.

He warned passengers looking to travel between the airports over the weekend could also be affected.

Further disruption to flights between Dublin Airport and Heathrow over the coming days is possible. Passengers looking for updates regarding specific flights or to rebook or change flight are advised to contact their airline directly by phone or online.

Singapore Airlines has announced a series of flight cancellations and diversions as a result of Heathrow’s closure.

Four flights scheduled to take off from London today have been cancelled while one set to leave Singapore has also been grounded.

One flight which had already departed from Singapore will return to the country and two flights bound for London have been diverted to Frankfurt and Paris.

The full information was put out by the airline on its X page.

Local residents in Hayes have told how they saw a ‘bright flash of white’ from the electrical substation fire before hearing a ‘massive explosion’.

London Fire Brigade were called to the substation on Nestles Avenue shortly before 11:30pm and remain on the site although the fire is now under control.

Mathew Muirhead, 42, was working a night shift on Thursday when he noticed smoke rising from the substation.

Speaking to the PA News agency, he said:

We were stood outside our branch in Hayes and my colleague noticed smoke coming over the trees. It was 23.30 when we saw it, we were heading to West Drayton, so we went to check it out, we heard the sirens as we were headed to Bulls Bridge roundabout. We saw a bright flash of white and all the lights in town went out.

My wife rang me and told me our electric was out – I found out a few hours later that Heathrow was completely shut down.

A local resident, who did not want to be named, said she heard a ‘massive explosion’ just before midnight.

All the power went off, she said, adding that she could see a ‘huge fire’ through a front window.

‘It just smelled like burning,’ she said, adding that it was difficult to work out where exactly the fire was.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has suggested the closure of Heathrow as a result of a fire at a nearby substation makes the airport look ‘quite vulnerable’.

Mr Miliband was asked on Good Morning Britain whether he thinks there should be more airports given people have found themselves stranded.

What it makes me believe is we’ve got to understand why this happened, and we’ve got to work out what the lessons are for the resilience of our infrastructure.

He said that National Grid told him they had not seen ‘anything like the scale’ of what happened with the ‘seriousness’ of the fire. He added:

But it makes Heathrow look quite vulnerable and therefore we’ve got to learn lessons, as I say, about not just Heathrow but how we protect our major infrastructure.

From left to right: Chloe, Ashley, Monisola and friend

A group of four friends had their Caribbean cruise dream blighted after Heathrow was closed due to a blaze last night.

Chloe, Ashley, Monisola, and their friend, who didn’t wish to be named, had been planning their trip which would begin in Miami and voyage around the picturesque paradise of the Caribbean since January.

They had originally paid around £1,600 for the entire trip but that has since doubled after they rushed to book flights from Gatwick after they were informed at 7.23am by Virgin Atlantic about the incident.

Now they are concerned if they are going to make to the Floridian city in time to be able to enjoy their hard-earned holiday with Virgin Voyages.

We need to be at Miami for a certain time otherwise we are going to miss our cruise. We need to be in Miami tomorrow afternoon and cruise lines are really strict – if you don’t get there, they will leave you behind, so we land in the next 24 hours. So we have been checking flights, checking flights, and also we didn’t get notified by the airline until this morning, I found out from the Uber driver and our flight is at 9.40am’.

The communication was really bad, they could have emailed earlier because the fire has been going on since midnight last night. ‘If we had gotten a notification or an email at 11pm at night we would’ve been able to rebook out flight.

The girls explained they paid an additional £1,000 each for tickets one way to Miami in the hopes of making it to their dream cruise. This four-figure sum didn’t include food, drinks or any additional perks on the flight.

We’ve paid £1,000 for this flight but we don’t know if our return flight to Heathrow is going to get cancelled or not. If it was just missing a day in Miami, that’s not as bad, but it’s missing the cruise.

Here’s what you need to know this morning after a fire in West London widespread disruption at Britain’s busiest airport which has been closed all day:

• More than 1,300 flights to and from Heathrow Airport will be disrupted after a fire broke out at an electricity substation in Hayes, two miles from Heathrow, just before 11:30pm last night
• Heathrow has suffered a significant power outage with officials deciding to close the airport until at least 11:59pm tonight with flight disruption expected to last well into the weekend
• Heathrow confirmed 120 flights were already in the air when the closure was announced meaning jets had to be diverted and rerouted to other airports
• Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the ‘unprecedented’ fire appeared to disable a back-up generator as well as the substation as he admitted it would make Heathrow look ‘quite vulnerable’
• Over 100,000 homes were left without power overnight but has now been reduced to around 4,000. A National Grid spokesperson said the fire had damaged equipment and they were ‘working at speed to restore power supplies as quickly as possible’
• London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were still on the scene at Nestles Avenue in Hayes just before 6am with part of a transformer still alight
• Around 150 people have been evacuated from surrounding properties and a 200-metre cordon has been put in place as a precaution

At least 1,357 flights have been cancelled, diverted or delayed and people are being advised not to make journeys to the airport as it remains closed until 11.59pm today.

Online flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said the closure would affect the scheduled 679 arrivals at and the 678 planned departures from Heathrow today.

Some planes already on their way to London managed to land at other UK airports.

British Airways, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, Air Canada and Delta have suffered the largest number of cancellations and diversions.

For a full list of flight cancellations read our story here:

Social media users have mocked Sky News after it inadvertently reported the Special Air Service had cancelled 12 ’round trips’ to Heathrow after apparently confusing it with Scandinavian Airlines, also known as SAS.

Viewers pointed out the error on X during the broadcaster’s coverage of the Heathrow closure this morning.

Budget airline Ryanair has announced it has launched eight ‘rescue flights’ for passengers affected by the Heathrow closure.

It has said the flights between Stansted and Dublin on Friday and Saturday will be available from 9:30am.

Gatwick Airport has said flights will operate as normal today

London’s alternative airports Gatwick, Stansted and Luton can expect busier than normal days today as passengers rearrange their flights which have been cancelled as a result of the fire this morning.

London Gatwick has already confirmed it is running a full operation at both its North and South terminals this morning while Luton and Stansted have not indicated a change to their schedules.

For the latest departure information at the three airports click here

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has told LBC there is ‘no suggestion of foul play’ surrounding the fire that has resulted in the closure of Heathrow Airport today.

The blaze broke out at an electricity substation in Hayes, around two miles from the airport, in the early hours this morning.

The blaze has knocked out power to the airport and surrounding homes.

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.

On a typical weekday, around 220,000 people would travel through Heathrow to an array of destinations across the world.

But Britain’s busiest airport stands desolate this morning after a major fire at a nearby electricity substation has resulted in the closure of the airport for the entire day.

Here are some pictures taken this morning:

Are you one of the many tens of thousands of passengers whose travel plans have been disrupted today as a result of the Heathrow closure.

If yes, then travel experts are on hand to remind you of what help you can receive although travellers are unlikely to be compensated because of the circumstances surrounding the fire.

Nicky Kelvin, editor-at-large at The Points Guy, told Mailonline the fire had caused an ‘extraordinary situation.’

He reminds passengers that under normal circumstances, if they are delayed for more than two hours on a short-haul flight, airlines must provide them with support such as food and drink and reimbursement for phone calls.

If they are delayed overnight, airlines will provide them with accommodation and transport to a hotel or home.

Usually if travellers arrive at their destination more than three hours late, they are entitled to compensation, however as these are extraordinary circumstances and out of the airlines’ control, this type of compensation will very likely not be payable.

Consumer experts from Which? have warned passengers whose flights have been cancelled as a result of the Heathrow closure will not be entitled to compensation but can ask their airline for assistance.

Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said travellers should refrain from travelling to Heathrow today but instead keep in touch with their airline.

If your flight is cancelled you won’t be entitled to compensation as these events will be considered an extraordinary circumstance, but you will be entitled to assistance from your airline, including overnight accommodation if needed.

Passengers will have the choice of being rerouted or accepting a refund, and if you opt for the former your airline is obliged to get you on a new flight as soon as possible, including with rival carriers from alternative airports.

If you instead accept a refund, be aware that your airline will have no further duty of care to you and you’ll need to make your own arrangements.It’s also worth checking the terms of your travel insurance to see if you are able to recoup any other expenses you may have incurred as a result of this incident, such as car hire or airport parking fees.

There have been no casualties or anyone treated for injuries at the scene of the fire at an electrical substation in Hayes, the London Ambulance Service said.

Hazardous area response teams and an incident response officer are currently on the scene, they said.

‘We are currently supporting emergency services colleagues at the scene of a fire in Hayes,”’ a spokesperson said.

‘Please try to avoid the area and, if you live nearby, stay indoors and keep windows closed.’

The huge blaze that broke out at an electrical substation in Hayes is ‘now under control’, the London Fire Brigade has said.

Firefighters will remain on scene throughout the day to minimise distruption and support the local community.

A probe into the cause of the fire has now also been launched by fire investigators.

It comes after the fire brigade said a transformer remained alight early on Friday morning.

The fire at a substation in Hayes has led to blackouts across much of the west London area.

Around 16,000 residents have reported disruption to their power supply on Friday morning.

A MailOnline graphic reveals just how close the fire was to Heathrow Airport.

The blaze broke out at a substation in Hayes, less than two miles away from the travel hub.

The fire at the substation in Hayes has left more than 4,900 homes without power. Some 150 people were evacuated from nearby homes.

National Grid says it is ‘working at speed to restore power supplies as quickly as possible’.

The Government will be doing everything it can to restore power to Heathrow Airport, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said.

Mr Miliband was asked by Sky News whether a Cobra meeting of senior ministers would be convened to address the matter.

He replied: ‘I’m sure the Government will be convening in the most appropriate way.

‘I’m not going to anticipate the precise form of that, but I’m already in touch with my colleagues on this issue.

‘As I say, I’ve spoken to the National Grid, who are really at the epicentre of this, and we will be doing everything we can, both to restore power and help the National Grid.

‘To do that, and to ensure that the DfT (Department for Transport), and the Government as a whole, plays its part in, as best we can, minimising the disruption to passengers.’

Watch Ed Miliband’s interview on BBC Breakfast:

Dozens of passengers have told MailOnline their flights have been affected by the closure at Heathrow this morning.

One, who was on a Emirates flight from Dubai, said the news of the fire broke 90 minutes before they were due to land.

They said they asked a member of the cabin crew what was going on and they replied ‘you know more than we do’.

The departure board at Heathrow is giving mixed signals this morning with most flights cancelled.

However, some still say gates are open, inlcuding a Luthhansa flight to Munich scheduled for 7.40am.

Passengers have been told not to come to Heathrow’s terminals this morning due to the closure.

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson 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.’

A British couple stuck in China have ‘no idea’ how they will get home after their flight was cancelled.

Sharon Towers and her husband told MailOnline they are stranded in the airport as strict immigration policy means they can’t check into a hotel.

She said: ‘My husband and I are stuck in China!

‘We should have taken off at 1pm local time here! Instead we are stuck at the airport with no idea how/when we will get home!

‘We can’t check in to a hotel because of the strict immigration visa policy, to enter back in to the airport, we need a boarding pass so customs can confirm when we are leaving the country!

‘We don’t know that, so we cant get a boarding pass to enter back in to the airport!’

Firefighters have been pictured dousing the remainder of the fire that broke out at the substation near Heathrow, causing the airport to shut.

If you are just joining us, part of the transformer at the site was still alight on Friday morning.

No trains will run to and from Heathrow today with major distruption expected, National Rail has said.

• Elizabeth line between Abbey Wood and Heathrow Terminal 4. and also between Shenfield / Abbey Wood and Heathrow Terminal 5
• Heathrow Express between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5

In the last hour, National Grid has posted on X that the fire at North Hyde substation has ‘damaged equipment, leading to a loss of power supply in the area’.

‘We are working at speed to restore power supplies as quickly as possible and will provide an update as soon as we can,’ it said in a statement.

More than 16,300 homes remain without power and have caused 150 people to be evacuated from nearby homes.

Some 120 flights were in the air when Heathrow announced its closure.

Passengers on those flights are being diverted to other airports in the UK and Europe.

Two flights from Doha and Bahrain have just landd in Frankfurt while a Cathay Pacific service from Hong Kong has diverted to Amsterdam.

London Gatwick has just shared a new statement saying it is offering support by ‘accepting diverted flights’.

‘Flights are operating from London Gatwick as normal today,’ the airport added.

Has YOUR flight been affected? Email olivia.christie@mailonline.co.uk

Air India has announced it is returning its London-bound AI129 flight to Mumbai.

Another flight – the Al161 from Delhi – is being diverted to Frankfurt, Germany.

All other remaining Air India flights travelling to and from London today have been cancelled.

Flights to London Gatwick remain unaffected, the airline told customers.

‘We will update about resumption of operations as soon as we have more information,’ the airline said in a statement.

If you’re just joining us, British Airways has released its first statement since Heathrow announced its closure.

The airline, which has its main base at Heathrow, warned the closure will have a ‘significant impact’ on its operation and its customers.

‘We’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond,’ the airline said in a statement.

Passengers are being warned not to travel to the airport.

Fireifghters are still at the scene of the blaze at the substation in Hayes, described by the fire brigade as a ‘prolonged incident’.

Part of a transformer is still alight and distruption remains ongoing, the London Fire Brigade said in their latest statement.

London Gatwick Airport has shared a new statement confirming that it will ‘accept diverted flights as required.

It added that it had already seen seven planes land that were due to arrive in Heathrow.

In its latest update just after 4am, the London Fire Brigade said that half of a transformer within the substation remains alight.

Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are at the scene tackling the fire at the electrical substation on Nestles Avenue in Hayes.

Airlines have a strict schedule of where planes and crews have to be at what time for their network to function, but now dozens of carriers will have to reconfigure their plans due to the Heathrow Airport closure.

In addition, airlines will have to find a way to deal with the backlog of passengers.

‘It’s going to be a chaotic couple of days,’ travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt from the Atmosphere Research Group told the Guardian.

Gatwick Airport said it is ‘ready to support as required’ after the Heathrow Airport closure caused at least 1,351 flights to be diverted.

‘We are aware of the situation at Heathrow Airport today and stand ready to support as required,’ a Gatwick spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC.

‘Flights are operating from London Gatwick as normal today.’

Power firm Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said those ‘medically dependent on electricity’ in need of support should call the company on 105.

SSEN said about 16,000 homes have been left without power in areas around Heathrow Airport.

FlightRadar24 spokesman Ian Petchenik said that the unplanned closure of Heathrow Airport will disrupt flights all over the world.

‘Heathrow is one of the major hubs of the world,’ he told the Telegraph.

‘This is going to disrupt airlines’ operations around the world.’

The flight tracking website said on X: ‘Today’s total closure of London-Heathrow will affect at least 1,351 flights to/from LHR.

‘That doesn’t include any flights that might be canceled or delayed due to aircraft being out of position.’

Footage of the blaze shows large clouds of smoke billowing into the sky as firefighters are trying to put out the fire, while videos from inside Heathrow showed the airport lying largely dark amid the power outage.

Flights set to land at Heathrow are already being diverted, but it is currently unclear how many flights are affected.

One of the diverted planes, flight US 146 from Newark, is now set to land in Shannon in Ireland shortly after 5am after the Heathrow Airport closure forced a diversion. It was scheduled to land at Heathrow at 5.55am.

Flights UA901 from San Francisco and EW9462 from Dusseldorf, which were set to land at Heathrow at 7.25am, have also been diverted.

Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said: ‘This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible.

The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large number of homes and local businesses, and we are working closely with our partners to minimise disruption.’

He added: ‘Due to the significant amount of smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed.’

Good morning. If you’re just joining us, this is what we know so far about the chaos at Heathrow Airport:

• All flights to and from Heathrow Airport have been cancelled until midnight.
• It follows an fire at a nearby electricity substation – firefighters are still working to tackle the blaze.
• At least 1,351 flights have been cancelled. More than 120 flights were mid-air when the closure was announced with flights being diverted to other UK and European airports.
• There is no electricity at the airport and nearby homes and businesses. More than 150 people have been evacuated.
• Disruption is expected to last until midnight on Friday, but the airport is warning of ‘significant disruption’ over the weekend.

Have YOU been affected? Email olivia.christie@mailonline.co.uk

‘Around 20 people have been evacuated from neighbouring properties and a 200-metre cordon has been put in place as a precaution with around 150 people evacuated.

‘The fire is producing a significant amount of smoke and local residents are advised to keep their windows and doors closed.

‘The Brigade’s Control Officers have taken almost 200 calls to the fire. The first call was received at 10.23pm and crews from Hayes, Heathrow, Hillingdon, Southall and surrounding fire stations were mobilised to the scene.’

‘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.

‘To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025.

‘We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.

‘We will provide an update when more information on the resumption of operations is available. We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to reassure that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation.’