Flight schedules around the world have been thrown into disarray by a massive fire raging at an electrical substation near London Heathrow Airport. The fire wiped out power at the world’s fifth-busiest airport and also knocked out its back-up power system. Thousands of other nearby buildings were also without power, and 150 people had to be evacuated as tall orange flames and plumes of black smoke shot into the sky. Firefighters said the cause of the fire was not immediately known. The airport is set to stay closed at least until midnight Friday. It had been scheduled to handle 1,351 flights carrying 291,000 passengers over the course of the day. The fire was reported just after 11 p.m. Thursday, forcing planes to divert to airports across the U.K. and Europe. Many long-haul flights from the U.S. turned around and went home. Some passengers forced to land unexpectedly in Europe might have to remain in airport transit lounges if they lack the proper visas, industry experts warned. Given that Heathrow is one of the world’s major hubs, the fire’s impact was expected to affect global flight operations. An airport spokesperson told Reuters that significant disruptions were expected to continue over the coming days.
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