Heathrow Airport shut: Air India flights return, airline issues advisory for passengers

Air India said on Friday that its flight operations from London’s Heathrow had been temporarily suspended as the airport announced a closure until March 21 midnight due to a power outage caused by a fire at an electrical substation.

The carrier said in a statement, “Our operations to and from London Heathrow (LHR) have been disrupted following the temporary suspension of operations at the airport until 23h59 London time of 21 March, after a significant power outage.”

Air India said London Heathrow-bound flight with number AI129 from Mumbai is returning to Mumbai and flight AI161 from Delhi is being diverted to Frankfurt.

“All our remaining flights to and from London Heathrow, including AI111 of this morning, have been cancelled for 21 March. We will update about resumption of operations as soon as we have more information. Flights to London Gatwick remain unaffected,” the statement added.

Heathrow Airport said in a post on X, “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” adding that passengers were advised not to travel to the airport.

Heathrow Airport status

Around 150 people were evacuated from nearby buildings as huge orange flames and plumes of smoke were seen shooting into the sky, Reuters reported.

The incident also disrupted power supply to nearby properties and disrupted flight schedules around the world from Heathrow, the world’s fifth-busiest airport.

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said at least 120 inbound flights to Heathrow were forced to divert to other airports, while 1,351 flights had been due to land and take off at Heathrow as of Friday.

Ian Petchenik, spokesman for FlightRadar24, said, “Heathrow is one of the major hubs of the world. This is going to disrupt airlines’ operations around the world.”

The London Fire Brigade said around 70 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze and the cause of wire is not known.