Counter-Terrorism Police Investigating as Huge Fire Shuts Down One of World's Busiest Airports
London’s Heathrow Airport shut down Friday after a fire at a nearby electrical substation caused a blackout.
Hours after the fire broke out, partial power had been restored to the airport, but there was no indication of when flights would resume, according to Sky News, which called the incident “unprecedented.”
The Associated Press reported that residents near the substation reported a loud explosion, followed by a fireball and smoke.
Fire closes London’s Heathrow airport, disrupts passengers: photos https://t.co/Q3XAOYd7yM
— PennLive.com (@PennLive) March 21, 2025
Counter-terrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police are leading the investigation, according to the BBC.
A statement from the Metropolitan Police said the unit’s involvement was a “precautionary measure.”
“We are working with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation. While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time,” a police statement said, according to a report in the U.K.’s Guardian.
“Given the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading inquiries,” the statement said.
“This is due to the specialist resources and capabilities within that command that can assist in progressing this investigation at pace to minimize disruption and identify the cause,” the statement said.
Officials said the office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer is being informed of developments, according to the BBC.
“There are questions to answer” over how a fire led to an airport blackout, a representative of the office said.
The representative said it was too soon to speculate about foul play in the incident.
One official said the fire should be a wake-up call for Britain.
“The U.K.’s critical national infrastructure is not sufficiently hardened for anywhere near the level it would need to be at to give us confidence this won’t happen again,” Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, a security think tank, according to AP.
“If one fire can shut down Heathrow’s primary systems and then apparently the backup systems, as well, it tells you something’s badly wrong with our system of management of such disasters,” he said.
As officials estimated that Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports, could be shut down for 24 hours, British Airways chairman and CEO Sean Doyle said travel disruptions could continue for days, according to the BBC.
“We hope that power will be restored as soon as possible. But even when that does happen, this incident will have a substantial impact on our airline and customers for many days to come, with disruption to journeys expected over the coming days,” he said.
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