Britain's Heathrow Airport was shut on Friday after a huge fire at a nearby electrical substation knocked out its power, disrupting flight schedules around the world,
Reuters reports.
Around 70 firefighters were tackling the blaze in the west of London, which also knocked out the area's back-up power system, leading to a mass outage at Heathrow, Europe's busiest and the world's fifth-busiest airport.
Huge orange flames and plumes of black smoke could be seen shooting into the sky during the night before firefighters said they had the blaze under control. By early morning the roads around Britain's biggest airport were largely deserted, except for some passengers walking away with their luggage.
"Our fire investigators will begin their investigation and we will continue working closely with our partners to minimise disruption and support the community," the fire brigade said.
It said the cause of the fire was not known. Energy Minister Ed Miliband said it did not appear to be foul play.
Heathrow said the airport, which was due to handle 1,351 flights during the day, flying up to 291,000 passengers, would stay closed until midnight as it was experiencing a significant power outage.
"Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information," it said. "We apologise for the inconvenience."
