Your Voice, Your BBC News

Have your flights been cancelled, diverted or delayed due to the Heathrow Airport disruption? Or have you been evacuated from your home in west London after the fire at the Hayes electrical substation?

If so, you can get in touch via Your Voice, Your BBC News.

Send us your story at www.bbc.co.uk/yourvoice, email bbcyourvoice@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp +44 7756 165803.

John Campbell
BBC News NI economics and business editor

Image source, PA Media

The flight path between Heathrow and Dublin is one of the busiest international routes in Europe - 34 flights, 17 in each direction, were scheduled for Friday.

Graeme McQueen from Dublin Airport Authority told broadcaster RTE there were a lot of passengers at the airport early this morning who were unaware of the disruption and are trying to rebook flights.

He added that passengers due to fly to Heathrow over the weekend should be prepared for potential further cancellations.

In total around 70 flights to and from the island of Ireland could be cancelled on Friday.

Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland has said it has facilitated several diverted flights originally scheduled to land at Heathrow on Friday morning, including flights from Toronto, Atlanta, Bridgetown Barbados, Boston, Orlando and Newark.

Sarah Fowler
Live reporter

Like thousands of passengers today, my travel plans have been completely thrown into the air.

My alarm went off at 04:00 GMT as we had an 08:15 flight from Heathrow to Inverness - and the first thing I saw was the BBC alert about the London airport's closure.

We couldn't believe our bad luck. It was a trip years in the making - and much delayed due to the Covid pandemic - to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday by tracking his ancestral routes in the Highlands.

We have my three-year-old with us and decided flying would be simpler than inflicting a 1,068-mile (1,719km) round trip on him. Once seeing the news, we decided to cut our losses and hit the road anyway.

We're now three hours into the journey - we've got another six to go and morale is high. We're some of the lucky ones able to find an alternative route and avoid the chaos. Others are clearly not going to be so lucky today.

Transport for London has urged commuters to avoid travelling to Heathrow Airport given today's airport closure.

In King's Cross, posters and signs were swiftly put up to warn those who missed news of the fire, and subsequent airport closure in west London, not to travel to Europe's busiest airport.

The Elizabeth Line, which runs trains to Hayes (the site of the electrical substation fire) and to Heathrow's terminals, warned that there would be "no service between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow Airport".

More than 4,900 homes have been left without power after the large fire broke out at North Hyde Electricity Substation in Hayes.

Below, the map shows how disruption from the fire spread to Heathrow airport a few miles away.

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

The rules around compensation and refunds can be tricky, and it is usually a high-stress situation when you need to know about them.

We’ve already outlined the key points, but it is important to remember that your airline has a contract with you to get you to your destination as soon as possible. If you take a refund, then that duty ends.

Lots of us book parts of holidays separately and so losses with, for example, accommodation require - hopefully - some goodwill from the provider.

Otherwise, it may need a claim to your credit card provider if you paid that way or through travel insurance. It’s important to keep all your receipts for any extra costs incurred.

If the problem was the fault of the airline, then you are entitled to extra compensation - but that’s clearly not relevant today as it was beyond their control.

Image source, Getty Images

We've been hearing from passengers who have been impacted by Heathrow Airport's closure.

Tori Dunzello, who was on board a flight and travelling for her father's funeral when the disruption began, tells BBC Breakfast she saw the plane she was on making "a big U-turn" on the in-flight map which shows the flight's path.

Travel journalist Simon Calder says he believes this is the first time London Heathrow has completely shut down since 2010.

"This is the busiest day of the week at the busiest airport in Europe," he tells the BBC.

"Fifteen years ago was the last time we saw the skies close down at Heathrow," he adds.

The 2010 Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption sent a huge ash plume several kilometres into the atmosphere, grounding thousands of flights across Europe. A snowstorm in December that same year also caused chaos for days in the lead-up to Christmas.

Charlotte Gallagher
Reporting from Heathrow Airport

Despite roads around the airport being closed some people have decided to come to the airport by foot.

We’ve seen some dragging their suitcases towards the terminals only to be turned away by police officers.

The message is: don’t come here as you will just sent back home or to your hotel.

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham Airport says there will be no delays to their customers due to diverted flights from Heathrow Airport.

"Airports regularly take diverts as part of normal operations, and flights inbound to London Heathrow will use multiple airports around the UK, and Ireland, or alternatively may return to their departure airport," a spokesperson says.

“We will assist with landing any diverted aircraft during the Heathrow closure today and work with those LHR airlines to repatriate their customers upon arrival into Birmingham.”

Image source, Getty Images

The London Fire Brigade says the fire at an electricity substation on Nestles Avenue in Hayes - which led to the widespread disruption at Heathrow Airport - is now "under control".

"Our fire investigators will begin their investigation and we will continue working closely with our partners to minimise disruption and support the community," the statement adds, external.

It says a transformer within the substation was alight and around 70 firefighters "worked tirelessly" to stop the flames "as swiftly as possible".

"Thanks to their efforts and coordinated multi-agency response, we successfully contained the fire and prevented further spread," assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne says.

"Due to the significant smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed, as some smoke will remain for a number of hours today," he adds, saying that scientific advisers will be on-site this morning to monitor the air quality.

Image source, PA Media

A lot of flights were already in the air and some had made significant progress in their journeys towards Heathrow when the disruption began.

As a result, a number of flights have been diverted to airports around the world, according to the website Flightradar24.

Passengers on a flight from Bangkok were among those diverted to Brussels, and some, including passengers on a flight from New York City, have been diverted to Iceland, according to the flight tracking website.

A flight from Boston was diverted to Goose Bay Airport in Canada, and a flight out of New York City made it two hours and forty minutes into its journey before being turned around and sent back to JFK.

Heathrow-bound flights have also been diverted to airports in Ireland, Cardiff, and Manchester, as well as Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid and beyond.

More now from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who has been speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He says he has spoken to National Grid this morning, and the company has described the outage as an "unprecedented event" - but Miliband adds they are working hard to restore power.

"There's obviously been a catastrophic fire at this substation," he says, adding "it appears to have knocked out a back-up generator as well as a substation itself."

"We will have to look hard at the causes, and also the protection and the resilience that is in place for major, major institutions like Heathrow," he adds.

When flights are delayed or cancelled, airlines have a duty to look after you.

That includes providing meals and accommodation, if necessary, and getting you to your destination. The airline should organise putting you on an alternative flight at no extra cost.

Additional losses - such as unused accommodation - might require a claim to a credit card provider, if that was the payment option used.

After that, a claim may need to go to your travel insurance provider. But there is no standard definition of what is covered.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, if your flight is delayed or cancelled, you may be entitled to compensation – but only when the airline is at fault. If the delay is caused by an "extraordinary circumstance" then passengers are not entitled to compensation.

A little earlier this morning, we heard from Tom Jenkins, chief executive of the European Tourism Association.

Jenkins advises passengers not to panic - but warns those trying to book onward journeys themselves that there is no automatic compensation for an event like this.

"I hope you have travel insurance," he says, adding that a situation like this is out of the airlines' control and usual compensation routes probably will not apply.

Passengers should check with their airlines for more information about what compensation they might be able to receive.

Read our full explainer: What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?

Victoria Park-Froud
Journalist

We're continuing to hear your stories today about disrupted travel plans while Heathrow is closed.

Anabelle Kiff tells us that she's had her birthday trip to New York halted by Heathrow's closure.

She describes how she and her partner Max were supposed to leave their home in Brighton at 04:00 GMT to head for the airport, but have now decided to stay put.

"Our holiday is now cancelled," Anabelle says. "I feel so gutted".

BBC News reporter Thomas Mackintosh has been caught in the Heathrow closure chaos.

He travelled to Athens for a Scotland football match against Greece - and was trying to catch an early flight home. Listen below as he describes how passengers reacted to the news that their flights were cancelled.

Gem O'Reilly
Reporting from west London

I’ve been here at the Premier Inn in Hayes for the last few hours. People here have come for refuge from the fire, they’ve been up all night worrying about their homes and when they’ll be able to return.

One woman told me her house shook with the fire and described the communication as "shocking".

More than 150 homes have been evacuated following the fire at North Hayes Electrical Substation - and many don’t know when they’ll return.

They say they watched the flames overnight and many are disturbed by what happened here.

British Airways, which operates a dedicated terminal out of Heathrow Airport, says it's expecting significant impacts from the airport's closure.

The airline says it is working as quickly as possible to update passengers on their travel options for "the next 24 hours and beyond".

Passengers were also urged to avoid travelling to the airport "until further notice".

Gem O'Reilly
Reporting from west London

A group of residents who were evacuated following an explosion at the North Hyde power substation say there was little communication overnight, leaving them confused about where to go.

"I was about 100 yards from the explosion," Vaneca Sinclair, 64, tells the BBC.

She recalls that at about 23:30 GMT last night she was getting ready to go to sleep, when "suddenly there was this huge bang and the house just shook". At first, she thought someone had crashed into the wall - but after opening the front door she was confronted with flames "everywhere down at the bottom of the road".

Vaneca grabbed her coat and a pair of trainers, then "ran down the road to see what it was… and realised it was the substation on fire."

Sinclair says police later told her and other residents to return home and grab essentials before evacuating, but no-one told them where to gather.

Eventually, they walked to the nearby Premier Inn, which let them in and allowed them to have hot drinks and use toilets while they waited for more information.

"When the first explosion went off ... I literally just ran out of the house," her neighbour Savita Kapur, 51, adds.

"I have an elderly mother who is in her 80s and not very well at all; I had to escort her into my car and get her out of the area and drop her off to my sisters.

“When I was driving up my road the second explosion went off and the whole ground shook.”

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been speaking to BBC Breakfast about the disruption at Heathrow and the surrounding area.

He says National Grid is saying "doing everything they can". He adds it's a fast-moving situation and the government will be doing everything it can "to work with Grid on the work they're doing".

Miliband is then asked how such a busy transport hub is able to be so severely disrupted by a fire at an electrical substation and why it appears to be so vulnerable.

"It's too early to answer that question. We don't know the cause of this fire. It's obviously an unprecedented event," the energy secretary says.

He says the government will want to understand the causes and "what lessons, if any, it can teach us".

Miliband adds: "the Grid have never seen an event quite like this so it is very unprecedented", adding the priority at the moment is to get the fire out, restore power, and "unwinding" the travel disruption.