London's Heathrow Airport Shuts Down, Travel Chaos Spreads After Fire Engulfs Power Substation

Britain's busiest airport, Heathrow, suffered a massive power outage after a fire broke out at a nearby electrical substation in West London. Backup generators failed to kick on, forcing the airport to shut down and resulting in the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights. The disruption sent shockwaves through global air travel. While the cause of the incident remains under investigation, UK officials have stated there is "no suggestion of foul play."

UK Energy Minister Ed Miliband confirmed that a preliminary investigation into the electrical substation fire in West London has found "no suggestion" that it was caused by foul play.

"At the moment, the focus is on restoring power. We don't yet have a full understanding of what caused the grid failure or the fire," Miliband told LBC Radio, adding, "There's no suggestion of foul play—just a catastrophic accident, as far as we can tell."

Heathrow, which serves nearly 90 airlines—including Britain's national carrier, British Airways—has canceled about 1,300 flights, affecting over 145,000 passengers.

Inbound flights to Heathrow were diverted to several airports, including ones nearby, such as Gatwick, London's second-largest airport, and Manchester. According to Flightradar24 data, some flights were rerouted to international airports in Madrid, Paris, and Ireland.

"The diverted flights were already in the air, so that's a diminishing number," Heathrow Airport spokesperson Michael Murphy-Pyle told CNN.

In markets, shares of European airlines fell. IAG—the parent company of British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and others—declined around 2.5%. Air France-KLM shares were also down about 2%.

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