Heathrow Airport closure sparks outrage among passengers and netizens

A fire in the electrical substation of the London Heathrow Airport on Friday made airport authorities to shut down their operation on 21st March. The airport authorities said that they took this decision to ensure passenger safety and a seamless operation of their services.  

The authorities announced this through their official X account, and said, “Due to a fire at our electrical substation, supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage. In order to maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 11:59 pm on 21st March. We will provide more update when information on the resumption of operations will be available. We know this will be disappointing for the passengers and we want to reassure that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation.” 

The airport authorities also emphasized that the passengers should not travel to the airport to avoid any inconvenience, else they could contact their respective airlines to find out updates on the flight schedule.  

Notably, the fire which took place at the electrical substation in Hayes, West London, has not just caused issues in successful operation of the airport but has disrupted many other households depending on the same power line. While the fire department responded to the site immediately and handled the situation, an exact clarification on when the power will be restored.  

According to reports, 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters have been deployed to handle the significant fire. It was further revealed that approximately 150 people evacuated from the property and no Casuality or injury has been reported yet. While investigations are underway, the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.  

Netizens express dissatisfaction over Heathrow Airport fire  

Following the incident, netizens cited their dissatisfaction on the sudden shutdown of the airport, citing safety and management concerns. A user named Brenda Clifford wrote that airports should have generators, and they should come handy when such incidents take place, while also demanding an answer from the authorities.  

“A station which serves electricity for a wide area which includes Heathrow airport site from A to Z of its running. There are generators to kick in when issues arise, but this did not happen. How to risk assess if that happens no one would have thought it to happen. Heads will have to come up with answers,” she wrote.  

Theo Coz, another user wrote, “Don’t they have solar, wind turbines and batteries as back up. What happened to the green ideology?”  

Heathrow is notably one of the busiest airports in the world, and the sudden shutdown of this facility has caused both rage and shock among netizens.