Heathrow Airport has closed after a major power cut due to a fire in an electrical substation nearby. Although the main British airport does not have direct flights with Lanzarote, it is a key stopover for many travelers.
According to Aena to La Voz, the island did not have flights scheduled with the London airport. However, Tenerife has been affected with two cancellations at its southern airport on the island. On the other hand, other flights destined for Heathrow Airport have been diverted to other aerodromes in Spain.
Aena has reported the cancellation of 20 flights with Spain, ten of them in Madrid (five departures and five arrivals) and ten more in Barcelona (six departures and four arrivals), until 9:30 a.m. this Friday, as a result of the closure of Heathrow Airport, in London, due to a fire.
In addition, five flights destined for Heathrow have been diverted to the Madrid-Barajas airport, with origins in South Africa, Rio de Janeiro, Bermuda, Miami and Sao Paulo.
Aena has explained that a total of 54 flights that were scheduled to take off this Friday from five Spanish airports to Heathrow will be affected by the closure of the British aerodrome throughout this Friday after the fire occurred in its facilities.
Specifically, these are 29 operations originating in Madrid, 19 in Barcelona, two in Malaga, two in Tenerife South and two in Valencia.
Passengers have been warned to stay away from the British airport and all trains to the airport have been suspended. Disruptions are likely to last for days.
The Flightradar24 tracking website estimates that 1357 flights will be affected (679 arriving and 678 departing from Heathrow) this Friday, including about 120 that were already in flight this morning before the closure.
"To ensure the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no option but to close Heathrow until 23:59 on March 21, 2025," Heathrow said in a statement.
"We anticipate significant disruptions in the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until it reopens," they warned.
Heathrow Airport is one of the busiest in the world. During the year 2024 alone, a total of 83.9 million passengers passed through its facilities.
Martinho Storm
The Martinho storm that is sweeping Spain has also caused some delays and cancellations at some airports in the country. On Thursday, strong winds caused the cancellation of 16 flights at Bilbao airport. In the case of Barcelona, this Friday, the fog is causing "some delays for security reasons", according to Aena on its X profile.
