A major power outage at London Heathrow Airport has caused significant disruptions to Air India’s operations, leading to multiple flight cancellations and diversions. The suspension of all services at Heathrow, in effect until 23:59 London time on March 21, has forced Air India to cancel flights and reroute aircraft to alternative destinations.
Flight AI129 from Mumbai has been redirected back to its origin, while AI161 from Delhi has been diverted to Frankfurt. Additionally, all remaining flights to and from Heathrow, including AI111, have been cancelled. However, Air India’s flights to London Gatwick remain unaffected. The outage was caused by a severe fire at a nearby electrical substation in Hayes, requiring an emergency response from the London Fire Brigade.
The fire led to widespread power failures, affecting thousands of homes and businesses. More than 1,300 flights have been impacted, forcing major airlines such as Qantas and United Airlines to reroute their aircraft to other European destinations, including Paris and Shannon. Heathrow Airport has urged passengers to avoid travelling to the airport and stay in touch with their airlines for further updates.
This incident underscores the vulnerability of major aviation hubs to infrastructure failures. Previous Heathrow disruptions include a 2010 shutdown due to snowfall and a Boeing 787 fire in 2013. The current outage has left many passengers stranded, awaiting further updates on when normal operations will resume.
Air India has assured passengers that it will provide updates as more information becomes available. Travellers are advised to monitor the airline’s official communication channels for the latest flight status and alternative travel options.