London’s Heathrow Airport was forced to close today (Friday March 21) due to a fire at an electrical substation which has led to a power outage.

This has led to numerous aircraft diverting to other airports, while others returned to their point of origin. Flights for the rest of the day have been cancelled with over 1,300 services affected in total.

A statement on the airport’s website says: “Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage. To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23:59 on 21 March. Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

A number of UK airports have taken diverted flights such as Glasgow which at the time of writing had accommodated a British Airways Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner and Boeing 777-200ER, plus a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-9. Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich and Shannon are among the airports in other countries which have also taken diversions.

Ryanair has announced that as a result of the Heathrow closure it is laying on extra flights. The carrier has stated it will put on “eight rescue flights between Dublin and London Stansted, four on Friday and four on Saturday to rescue passengers affected by today’s Heathrow closure. Ryanair will operate four extra flights between Dublin and Stansted on Friday afternoon as well as four extra flights on Saturday morning.”

Heathrow Airport has warned of "significant disruption" over the coming days. The closure has implications stretching far wider than Heathrow and could impact flights much further afield.

The fire at the substation in Hayes has left more than 4,900 homes without power and 150 people were evacuated from surrounding properties. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

13:20hrs

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued the following guidance for passengers affected by the closure of Heathrow today:

Air passenger rights:

When flights are delayed and cancelled, we expect airlines to minimise the overall impact on you by keeping you informed and looking after you.

In many cases you will be protected by rights which are set out in UK legislation. The table below provides guidance on whether your flight is covered by UK legislation:

Flight Itinerary UK or EU Air Carrier Non-UK/non-EU Air Carrier

Departing from Heathrow ✔️ Covered ✔️ Covered

Arriving to Heathrow ✔️ Covered ❌ Not Covered

Whether these rights apply or not, we encourage airlines to do all they can to minimise the overall impact to their passengers.

Flight Cancellations:

If your flight from Heathrow Airport has been cancelled

Please do not go to the airport and contact your airline for further advice.

Your airline is required to offer you the choice of a refund or find you an alternative flight (referred to as “re-routing”). Re-routing should be at the earliest opportunity or at a later date at your convenience, subject to availability.

Unfortunately, it may be challenging for airlines to offer re-routing during periods of major disruption, especially when an airport is closed at short notice. This may mean that your airline may not be able to get you to your destination as quickly as any of us would like. Nevertheless, if you still wish to get to your destination, we expect your airline to do all it can to offer you an alternative flight and keep you updated.

If your airline is unable to proactively offer you care, or offer suitable replacement flights, we expect it to promptly reimburse you for the costs you incur making your own arrangements. Make sure you keep receipts and avoid incurring excessive costs.

If your flight to Heathrow has been cancelled

We realise that being unable to travel home as planned will be concerning for you. We expect your airline to update you and advise you of your rights.

If your flight is covered by UK passenger rights legislation, your airline will be required by law to get you home and look after you while you wait by providing meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation proportionate to the length of time you are delayed.

To get you home your airline is required to find you an alternative flight (referred to as “re-routing”). Re-routing should be at the earliest opportunity or at a later date at your convenience, subject to availability.

Unfortunately, it may be challenging for airlines to offer re-routing during periods of major disruption, especially when an airport is closed at short notice. This may mean that your airline may not be able to get you home as quickly as any of us would like. Nevertheless, we expect your airline to do all it can to offer you an alternative flight and keep you updated.

If your airline is unable to proactively offer you care, or offer suitable replacement flights, we expect it to promptly reimburse you for the costs you incur making your own arrangements. Make sure you keep receipts and avoid incurring excessive costs.

Different rights apply if your airline is not an UK or EU carrier. Please speak to your airline or check its website for more information about your rights.

Diverted flights:

If your flight was diverted because it could not land at Heathrow and your flight is covered by UK passenger rights legislation, your airline should provide onward transportation (this may be by other means) to get you to Heathrow. It should also look after you and provide you with meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation while you wait, proportionate to the length of your delay.

If your airline is unable to proactively offer you care, or offer onward transportation, we expect it to promptly reimburse you for the costs you incur making your own arrangements. Make sure you keep receipts and avoid incurring excessive costs.

Different rights apply if your airline is not an UK or EU carrier. Please speak to your airline or check its website for more information about your rights.

If you are travelling on a package holiday:

If you booked a package holiday, you may also benefit from additional rights, particularly if this means that your original package cannot be provided. If flight delays or cancellations lead to your holiday being cancelled, or new arrangements are made that result in a significant change to your holiday, then your travel company must offer an alternative holiday if they can, or a refund for the full price of your package holiday.

Flight Delays:

If your flight from Heathrow Airport is delayed

Your airline should look you after and provide you with meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation proportionate to the length of your delay.

If your flight to Heathrow Airport is delayed

If your flight is covered by UK passenger rights legislation, your airline should look after you and provide you with meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation proportionate to the length of your delay.

Different rights apply if your airline is not an UK or EU carrier. Please speak to your airline or check its website for more information about your rights.

Fixed sum compensation:

In addition to their obligations to look after passengers, as set out above, airlines are sometimes required to provide fixed sum compensation to passengers in certain circumstances. Although we recognise the adverse impacts these delays and cancellations will have on passengers, the disruptions directly caused by the closure of Heathrow Airport are likely to be viewed as “extraordinary circumstances”. As a result, you are unlikely to be entitled to fixed sum compensation.

Extraordinary circumstances do not affect your other entitlements to replacement flights and care set out above - these are due regardless of the cause of your delay or cancellation.

Notes: The Civil Aviation Authority’s interpretation of extraordinary circumstances is illustrative and for guidance only, rather than determinative of our view in any specific case that may arise. Each case will be context and fact specific. This does not mean that a passenger or group of passengers cannot try and claim compensation, including through the courts, if they disagree with our interpretation.

The protections set out above are based on Assimilated Regulation 261/2004 which collectively apply to all flights departing from the UK, and flights arriving into the UK on UK and EU carriers. Different rights may apply to passengers arriving on flights to the UK operated by non-EU carriers such as flights from the USA on US carriers.

Stay tuned for updates to this story.