Air India flights disrupted after Heathrow Aiport fire

The fire at the sub station that led to the closure of the airport. Pics/AFP

Air India's operations to and from the London Heathrow airport were disrupted on Friday after a fire knocked out power to London airport. One flight returned to Mumbai, another was diverted to Frankfurt and other flights remaining cancelled due to a temporary suspension of operations at the airport. Air India also said that its flights to London Gatwick remained unaffected.

Apart from Air India, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have daily direct flights between various Indian cities and LHR, one of the busiest airports in the world. British Airways has 8 flights per day between India and LHR, including 3 from Mumbai and 2 from Delhi. Virgin Atlantic has 5 daily flights to LHR from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Firefighters douse the fire that broke out on Thursday

Some 120 flights were in the air when the closure was announced, with some turned around and others diverted to Gatwick Airport outside. Hundreds of thousands of passengers faced flight cancellations at Europe's busiest travel hub after a fire knocked out power to London's Heathrow Airport, forcing it to close for the day.

The London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters responded to a fire at the substation that was reported at 11:23 pm. on Thursday. The fire has been contained but firefighters will remain at the scene throughout Friday, the fire brigade said.

Police say there is so far no indication of foul play in blaze that shut Heathrow but counter-terror detectives are leading the investigation into its cause. At least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow have been affected already, including several from US cities that were cancelled, flight tracking service.

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