Fire at London's Heathrow airport, halts operations: What passengers can do

Following a fire at an electrical substation, London's busiest airport, Heathrow, is experiencing a power outage. The airport authorities said it will stay closed until 11.59 pm local time. on March 21 and that major disruption is expected over the coming days as well. The passengers are advised to contact their individual airlines for further information. At least 120 Heathrow-bound flights are instructed to divert and are rerouted to Paris, Washington, Shannon, DC, and more. 

Meanwhile, here's what passengers can do:
1) Any passenger who is departing from a UK airport on any airline or arriving at one on a UK or EU airline are covered as per the country's law.
2) When flights get cancelled, airlines should provide passengers with food and drink vouchers, call costs refunds, accommodation facilities if their new flight is in the following days and transportation to or from home.  
3) The passengers can also arrange the facilities for themselves and claim the cost later with receipts. 

4) They can contact their airline and look for rebooking options
5) London also has Gatwick, Standsted, Luton, London City and Southend airports, from where you can check for a flight to your destination.
6) Check whether your travel insurance covers the extra costs due to delays and inconveniences.

One of the busiest airports
Nearly 84 million passengers travelled through the Heathrow airport last year, surpassing its previous peak in 2019 by three million. A third of these travellers were from the European Union. Globally, Heathrow ranked as the second busiest international airport in 2024, trailing only Dubai, according to travel data firm OAG, which based its ranking on seat capacity.