Counter-terrorism police join Europe's largest airport shutdown

The Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism unit has taken over the lead investigation into the cause of the fire and a massive power outage near Heathrow Airport that has left hundreds of flights cancelled and thousands of passengers stranded, the force said in a statement on Friday evening.

"Given the location of the incident and its impact on critical national infrastructure, the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism unit has taken over the lead investigation to use its specialist capabilities to expedite the investigation, minimise disruption and establish the cause of the incident," the force said in a statement on Friday evening.

London police said the move was not a confirmation of sabotage or terrorism, but the scale of the crisis and its potential security implications had raised concerns among British authorities. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on Twitter that he was aware of the incident and was regularly monitoring the situation with the authorities.

London Heathrow Airport was completely closed on Friday after a massive fire broke out at a power station near the airport, an incident that not only caused the cancellation of more than 1,300 flights, but also stranded thousands of passengers in different parts of the world and highlighted the weakness of crisis management at one of Europe’s most important air transport hubs.

Heathrow Airport officials announced that all flights in and out of the airport have been canceled until midnight on Friday following a “massive power outage” caused by a fire at the North Hyde power station in the Hayes area, located north of the airport. According to an assessment by the FlightRadar24 website, at least 1,351 flights have been affected by the incident.

A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said: “To protect the safety of passengers and staff, we have been forced to close the airport until 1:59 p.m. on March 21. Passengers should not travel to the airport until further notice,” it added. Severe disruptions are expected to continue in the coming days.

The fire was reported at North Hyde Power Station at around 11:23pm on Thursday night. It left more than 16,000 homes and businesses in Hayes and Hounslow without power. Images from the scene showed large flames and thick smoke billowing from the blazing transformer. More than 150 people have been evacuated from the area and a 200-metre radius has been cordoned off for safety reasons.

Around 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines have been called to the scene. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but National Grid said it was working hard to repair the damaged lines. By 6am, power had been restored to around 62,000 customers, but around 4,900 homes were still without power.

Reports from the airports of origin also indicated that many international flights, including those operated by Air India, Qatar Airways and Qantas, were diverted or turned back to Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin and other cities. For example, at Singapore Changi Airport alone, 14 flights were scheduled to operate on a daily basis, each carrying more than 350 passengers.

Pat Golborne, deputy chief of the London Fire Brigade, called the incident one of the most significant in recent memory, saying: “Despite the progress made in containing the fire, disruption will continue for some time.”

Ed Miliband, the UK energy secretary, also acknowledged the unprecedented nature of the incident, saying that even the backup generator had been damaged in the fire. He refused to “jump to conclusions” about the cause of the incident, but stressed that the government was investigating the emergency and urgently restoring the facility.