LONDON, Mar 21 (AA/APP): Thousands of passengers have been affected by flight cancellations at Heathrow Airport after a large fire broke out Thursday night at a nearby electricity substation in west London, which supplies to the UK’s largest airport.
The fire which was put under control on early Friday, forced the airport to shut down due to a power outage. The airport will remain closed on Friday.
In a statement, Heathrow warned customers to expect “significant disruption over the coming days.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said that the substation’s backup generator “appears to have been knocked out.”
According to tracking website Flightradar24, more than 1,300 flights have been affected, while customers have been told not to travel to the airport until further notice.
Miliband stated that there is “no suggestion of foul play” concerning the fire, adding that he believed the fire was simply a “catastrophic accident.”
“We’ve got to get power restored as quickly as possible and Heathrow opened as quickly as possible,” he told LBC.
He also told Sky News that there was a backup generator but that it was also affected by the fire, which shows “how unusual and unprecedented” the situation is.
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, expressed that she was receiving updates on the “fast-moving” situation.