Explosion at London Airport. flights from Tashkent canceled (video)

A power station near London's Heathrow Airport exploded, causing a fire and prompting the temporary closure of the airport. Sky News reported the incident, warning that significant disruptions could continue for the coming days. Passengers were advised to avoid coming to the airport until it is officially reopened.

The explosion occurred 2.4 km from the airport, and the fire left several thousand buildings without power. Emergency responders, including 10 appliances and about 70 firefighters, were involved in extinguishing the flames. Around 150 people were evacuated from the affected area.

More than 120 flights landing at Heathrow were forced to change their routes. Heathrow is the largest airport in Europe and sees a significant volume of traffic daily. 

As of now, the number of people without power has reached 16,000. A spokesman for Heathrow Airport confirmed that the fire caused a major power outage at the airport, warning that passengers should expect further delays and disruptions.

“We expect significant disruption to airport operations in the coming days. Passengers are strongly advised not to travel until the airport reopens,” the airport stated.

According to Sky News and data from Flightradar24, at least 120 flights had to be diverted. These flights were already en route to Heathrow when the explosion occurred.

As a result of this incident, Uzbekistan Airways flights HY201/202, traveling from Tashkent to London (Heathrow) and returning to Tashkent, were canceled on March 21. Passengers on these flights will be rebooked on flights HY203/204 on the Tashkent-London (Gatwick)-Tashkent route from March 23. Passengers also have the option to request a refund for their airline tickets.

It is worth noting that earlier, an American Airlines flight with 172 passengers on board caught fire at Denver Airport in the United States. Fortunately, all passengers and 6 crew members were safely evacuated and taken to the airport building.