A fire broke out at an electrical substation that provides power to London Heathrow airport last night, resulting in the airport being closed and disruption to air cargo that will likely continue through the next few days.

Currently, the airport is not due to reopen until at least midnight Friday March 21st, which has resulted in more than 1300 flights being cancelled or rerouted.

Overnight flights that were already en-route to Heathrow were diverted to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, Frankfurt and Manchester, with arrangements currently being made for air cargo to be transported back to Heathrow.

We understand the current position to be:

• Imports: No flights arriving, but collections can be arranged from airline sheds for the majority of customs cleared shipments.
• Exports: No flights departing and export deliveries are dependent on whether the specific shed has sufficient power.

Over 70% of UK air cargo is dependent on flights and operations through Heathrow. With backlogs and delays expected when the airport does reopen, it is likely that operations will be affected through at least the next week.

Your team at Unique are monitoring developments closely at this time. Should you have concerns about existing or upcoming air freight shipments then please do not hesitate to contact us.