Thousands of travellers between UK and Thailand affected
By Tom Sinclair , Pattaya News
THE SHUTDOWN of London’s Heathrow Airport is sending shockwaves through global air travel, disrupting thousands of journeys and exposing serious weaknesses in contingency planning at one of the world’s busiest airports.
A fire at the North Hyde electrical substation in Hayes, West London—reported shortly after 11:00pm on Thursday (March 20)—knocked out both primary and backup power to Heathrow, bringing all operations to a standstill. The airport, which typically handles around 1,300 flights per day, remains without full power as of press time as emergency crews continue their efforts.
Thai travellers have been particularly hard-hit. Thai Airways International (THAI) confirmed that four direct flights between Bangkok and London have been cancelled due to the shutdown:
Affected Thai Airways flights:
TG916 (Bangkok to London, scheduled March 21)
TG910 (Bangkok to London, scheduled March 22)
TG911 (London to Bangkok, scheduled March 21)
TG917 (London to Bangkok, scheduled March 21)
One of these flights—TG910—had already taken off from Suvarnabhumi Airport at 12:44am, en route to Heathrow, when the power failure occurred. It was diverted mid-air and landed at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
THAI has urged all passengers to check their flight status on the airline’s website or by calling the THAI Contact Centre on +66 2-356-1111.
Travellers using Middle East carriers—such as Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Oman Air, and Gulf Air—have also faced major disruption. While these airlines don’t operate direct Bangkok–Heathrow flights, their London-bound services via hubs like Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, and Bahrain have been affected by the Heathrow closure.
Numerous flights have been delayed, diverted, or cancelled, resulting in missed onward connections, long layovers, and hotel re-bookings.
British Airways and EVA Air, which both run direct Bangkok–London services, have also experienced delays and cancellations. British Airways is offering flexible rebooking for passengers travelling between March 21 and 23. EVA Air had not issued a statement at the time of writing, though several of its flights were confirmed to be delayed or rerouted.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that their Counter-Terrorism Command is leading the investigation into the blaze at the substation. However, there is no suggestion of foul play at this time.
A Met spokesperson said: “Due to the location and the impact on national infrastructure, our Counter-Terrorism Command is involved to utilise its specialist resources.”
London Fire Brigade reported the fire involved a transformer containing 25,000 litres of cooling oil. Emergency services have faced challenges due to high-voltage equipment and lingering hotspots—10% of the fire was still burning on Friday afternoon.
No timeline for reopening
As of Friday evening, Heathrow remained closed with no official estimate for reopening. The airport urged passengers not to travel there and confirmed that only emergency backup systems were functioning—enough to maintain safety systems, but not to resume full operations.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We expect significant disruption in the days ahead. We will update passengers as soon as we have more information.”
The airport reportedly consumes as much energy as a small city. Experts have expressed concern that both primary and backup systems could fail simultaneously.
Travel industry experts estimate the shutdown could be costing well over £20 million per day. Paul Charles, CEO of The PC Agency, said: “Heathrow is a critical piece of UK infrastructure. The backup systems should have been failsafe.”
Karen Dee, chief executive of Airlines UK, added: “The priority must be clearing the backlog and restoring normal operations.”
Independent aviation analyst John Strickland noted the long-lasting ripple effects. “Aircraft and crew are now out of place around Europe. Some may remain grounded for days due to rest regulations and logistical hurdles.”
Government promises review of energy resilience
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said engineers are working to bring a third transformer online, while acknowledging the wider questions the incident raises.
“This event has shown vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure. A full review will be necessary,” he said.
The UK energy regulator, Ofgem, has already launched a formal inquiry. Akshay Kaul, Ofgem’s director of infrastructure, said: “We need to understand exactly what failed and how to prevent it from happening again.”
Professor Tim Green, electrical engineering expert at Imperial College London, commented: “Airports usually have multiple independent power sources. For them all to fail at once is highly unusual and alarming.”
Legal liability unclear
Under UK and EU compensation laws, passengers are entitled to up to €600 plus food and accommodation—but only if the airline is at fault. Since this shutdown was caused by external infrastructure failure, many passengers may not qualify for compensation.
Most airlines are offering rerouting or full refunds, but industry analysts expect prolonged legal battles over liability.
“It’s not yet clear who will pay for the disruption,” said Strickland. “It could be the airport, the energy provider, insurers—or possibly all three. Nobody wants to shoulder the cost alone.”
