A fire at the North Hyde electrical substation caused the closure of Heathrow Airport, leading to significant travel disruption. This incident weighed on shares of European airlines, with declines outpacing the broader stock indexes on Friday.
Shares of International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways, dropped 1.4% after an early trading fall of 3%. Lufthansa shares fell by 1.3%, while Air France-KLM also slid by 1.3%. German leisure and tourism company TUI, which owns five airlines including a British market operator, declined by 1.8%. Other European airlines not operating at Heathrow were also affected: Wizz Air shares fell 1.4%, easyJet dropped 0.7%, and Ryanair decreased by 0.8%.
The British government emphasized the need for a rigorous investigation into how a single fire could shut down Europe’s busiest airport. Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed concern and thanked emergency services for their efforts. The most pressing task remains extinguishing the fire, which is still burning.
Flight operations in the United States remain normal despite the Heathrow fire, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Delta Airlines issued a travel waiver through Sunday for customers needing to rebook flights due to the fire, canceling 10 flights scheduled to depart from Heathrow on Friday.
Travelers may rebook through other London-area airports such as City, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Southend. However, these airports are not all easily accessible from Heathrow.
Residents near the substation described hearing a large explosion followed by a fireball and smoke. Firefighters controlled the blaze after seven hours but continued working to fully extinguish it. No injuries were reported. National Grid restored power to 62,000 customers by Friday morning, leaving 4,900 still without electricity.
Global aviation felt the ripple effects of Heathrow’s closure. Emirates canceled six round-trip flights, Etihad canceled two, and Qatar Airways reported at least seven impacted flights. Thai Airways advised passengers of schedule changes due to affected flights.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described the fire as unprecedented and emphasized the need for improved protection and resilience for major institutions like Heathrow. United Airlines canceled flights to Heathrow, with some returning to their origin or diverting to other airports.
Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports for international travel, normally opens at 6 a.m. due to nighttime flying restrictions. The airport’s closure was set to last until 11:59 p.m. on Friday.
— news from The Associated Press