TRAVEL CHECK

Are Gatwick, Stansted and Luton flights disrupted due to Heathrow fire today? Check your journey

An overnight fire has caused severe disruption for travellers in London today, with Heathrow Airport shut down. Many interrupted passengers may be diverted to flights from other London airports, such as Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton.

8 A fire at a substation near Heathrow has plunged the airport into chaos todayCredit: Reuters

8 All flights were cancelled, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers strandedCredit: PA

However, the unexpected spike in passengers at smaller airports may cause some disturbance. Heathrow was thrown into disarray after a fire broke out at a substation in Hayes, West London, and is expected to be closed until 11.59pm on Friday. Gatwick received the most diversions from planes originally scheduled to land at Heathrow. Six early morning aircraft by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic were diverted to the secondaryairport, landing between 4.25am and 5.06am.

Following the cancellation of all flights at Heathrow today, many travellers who needed to go to their destinations may have been routed to Gatwick instead. This morning, pictures show the two Gatwick terminals looking busier than usual. This could be due to a combination of travellers being diverted by their airlines and those quickly booking a new ticket to get to their destination today. While there do not appear to be any unusual delays at Gatwick, the average departure delay this morning has gradually increased to 20 minutes as of 9.30am, according to FlightRadar24.

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