Heathrow airport closed: Rajeev Chandrasekhar jokes, ‘Maybe India can help UK manage its airports better?’

Heathrow airport closed: Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar used social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to take a light jab at the British following news of the Heathrow airport closure due to a local fire.

Quoting a news report about the closure, Chandrasekhar wrote: “Maybe India can help UK manage its airports better? (sic)”

Air India Advisory: Services Disrupted, Check Flight Details Here

Indian aviation major Air India has in its statement on the Heathrow shutdown notified passengers of disruption in services. “We will update about resumption of operations as soon as we have more information. Flights to London Gatwick remain unaffected,” the airline added.

The notice is as follows:

• London Heathrow-bound AI129 from Mumbai is returning to Mumbai;
• AI161 from Delhi is diverting to Frankfurt.
• All remaining Air India flights to and from London Heathrow, including AI111 of this morning, have been cancelled for 21 March.

London Heathrow Airport Closed: What Happened?

London's Heathrow Airport, via its official social media account on X (formerly Twitter), has informed travellers and passengers that it will be closed on March 21 due to a fire-related emergency.

According to an AP report, around 150 people were evacuated after a transformer within an electrical substation caught fire in west London around 11.23 pm on March 20. The incident has affected the airport and nearby homes. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

According to a Reuters report, at least 120 inbound flights to Heathrow were diverted and services for another 1,351 flights at the airport were also affected.

For How Long will Heathrow Airport Be Closed?

As per the post late on March 20 local time (early in the morning IST on March 21), the airport will be closed for the full day on Friday till 11.59 pm.

Data from FlightRadar24 showed several flights were diverted to other airports, including a Qantas Airways plane to Paris and a United Airlines flight to Shannon, Ireland. It added that some flights even turned around mid-air and returned to their point of departure.

London's main international airport handles an annual load of 80 million passengers a year, and daily takeoffs and landings numbers around 1,300 on average, as per an AFP report.

How Are Passengers and Netizens Reacting to the Shutdown?

One passenger and social media user shared on X, “90 minutes flight to London, captain comes on and says we're going back to LAX because there's a fire at a substation near Heathrow, which is now closed for 24 hours.”

Another wrote: “We are over the Atlantic Ocean right now and they are turning our plane around due to a fire at Heathrow Airport. With a 2 year old and 3 year old in tow and on our way to a wedding that we might not make in time now.”

Videos of the fire and blaze touching the sky were shared across social media. And some users were even tracking flight path and shared it on X.

Viral Videos of the Fire On Social Media: Watch

Videos of the flames touching the sky went viral on social media with many users posting to show the extend of the fire.

(With inputs from Agencies)