LONDON, England — Fire disaster for London’s Heathrow Airport as e close down whole day on Friday after one electrical substation catch fire, wey knock out power wey disrupt many flights for di busiest airport for Europe. As flight tracking service FlightRadar24 talk, at least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow don suffer from this fire wahala.
Di fire start for late Thursday night, about 2 miles from di airport vicinity, and e take London Fire Brigade about seven hours to control am. Flames and smoke rise high for di sky as di transformers for di electrical substation dey blaze.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband wey come talk for BBC say, “We no sabi wetin cause di fire. E don dey obvious say dis kind incident no dey common.” Him also confirm say di fire don affect di backup power supply to di airport.
Heathrow officials declare say dem no fit open di airport until past midnight on Friday, as dem advise passengers make dem no travel go di airport at all until dem announce reopening.
In di air, approximately 120 flights don find new destinations, some dey reroute to Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, and Shannon for Ireland. Passengers like Lawrence Hayes, wey dey fly from John F. Kennedy International for New York, dey complain say dem divert am to Glasgow, and e go take him longer day to reach London.
Heathrow dey known as one of di busiest airports globally, and dis closure go create ripple effect for international travel. Angela Webb, one aviation consultant, explain say dis kind shutdown fit take diasporas up to four days to start normal operations again as airline crews and aircraft need rearrangement.
Some airlines don begin to cancel flights, including United Airlines wey don cancel every flight scheduled for di day and only send some back to origin. Other carriers like Singapore Airlines and Qantas dey divert their flights to different airports.
As di fire don burn, thousands of nearby residents don feel di effects, with over 16,300 homes lose power and over 150 people evacuate from their properties. Pat Goulbourne, Assistant Commissioner for di London Fire Brigade, commend di firefighters for their efforts. “Dem work tireless to contain di fire and stop am from spreading,” he talk.
National Rail don cancel all di trains wey dey go and come from di airport, leading to further frustration among passengers. Di impact of di fire dey reminiscent of past disruptions like di 2010 volcanic eruption wey also scatter European air travel.
“Dis one fit take days to recover as airlines dey scramble to manage di backlog wey go come from dis chaos,” aviation expert John Strickland ensure. “Borri Kai, if dem no arrange well,” he add.
Heathrow dey usually open for flights at 6 a.m. due to night restrictions, but now as di airport no fit function, dem dey advise passengers make dem keep checking updates as dem work towards restoring normalcy.
