Major motorway linking Heathrow CLOSED as airport shuts for entire day due to huge fire sparking travel chaos
PART of the M4 has been closed due to the fire near Heathrow Airport today.
All southbound traffic between the M4 and J4A junction has stopped due to the incident.
National Highways East confirmed the closure in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“The M4 spur for Heathrow Airport is closed southbound between the M4 and J4A due to the closure of Heathrow Airport today following a large fire at an electrical substation,” they wrote in the statement.
Further disruptions and cancellations are expected at the airport in the coming days, click here for live updates.
Passengers have been urged to check their journeys and told to avoid Heathrow Airport until further notice.
The blaze broke out at an electrical station on Nestles Avenue, in Hayes, West London, at around 11:00 PM last night and sparked a major power outage.
Online flight tracking service FlightRadar24 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow Airport have been disrupted due to the closure.
Thousands of homes have also been left without power and more than 100 people were evacuated after a transformer within the North Hyde electrical substation caught fire in west London.
The airport, which is supplied by the substation, said it was among those impacted by the power outage.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025.
“We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.”
Online tracking services showed flights being diverted to Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and Ireland’s Shannon Airport.
A number of flights were also turned around and returned to airports in Canada and the United States.
Heathrow Express train service announced it not operating today while Hayes and Harlington railway station remains closed, National Rail confirmed.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said on X there was a large-scale power outage in Hayes, Hounslow and the surrounding areas, impacting more than 16,300 homes.
According to the power company’s website, authorities aimed to restore power by 3:00 PM on Friday.
London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were still on the scene at Nestles Avenue in Hayes just before 6:00 AM with part of a transformer still alight.
Footage posted to social media showed huge flames and large plumes of smoke coming from the facility.
Emergency services were called to the scene at 11:23 PM on Thursday. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
London Ambulance Service and Metropolitan Police both confirmed they were on scene supporting fire crews.