Travel expert Simon Calder has warned of the “reputational damage” to Heathrow Airport following a major fire at a substation near the travel hub in Hayes, West London.
Europe’s busiest airport shut down its services after a huge blaze began at the electrical substation in Nestles Avenue, Hayes at around 11:30pm last night.
Thousands of travellers have been left stranded as Heathrow remains closed until midnight tonight. More than 1,300 flights were cancelled as a result of the blaze and train lines have been severely affected.
Speaking to GB News, Travel Correspondent Simon Calder claimed that the fire has caused “emotional harm” to the passengers affected, and “economic harm” to the airport.
Simon Calder has warned of the ‘reputational damage’ to Heathrow Airport following the fire at a nearby substation
London Fire Brigade, PA, GB News
Calder said of the incident: “Oh my goodness, it’s absolute devastation. This is causing immense harm economically to the airlines and to the wider economy. It’s causing great reputational damage because here we are again, with everything shutting down.
“And unfortunately it’s also causing severe emotional harm to an awful lot of people, who simply wish to get away on their holiday of a lifetime, to a family wedding – whatever it is, they are just desperate to be on the move.”
Casting doubt on when Heathrow Airport will be operating at its usual capacity, Calder said there are no signs of the airport getting back to normal anytime soon.
He added: “Unfortunately, as we have seen, over 1,300 flights cancelled, and more than a hundred have been diverted to various parts of Europe. A huge inconvenience to the people on those flights and no sign of when we might get back to normal I’m afraid.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
“So desperate times, and huge distress and upset when people should be feeling joy and excitement about escaping for the weekend.”
When asked by host Emily Carver what the potential economic impact will be for Britain as a result of the blaze, Calder suggested that the country is set to miss out on “thousands of tourists” coming to the UK and “spending their money”.
He told GB News: “We’ll have a hit because inevitably, of course, this huge Heathrow is by far the biggest port in terms of value of exports. There’s huge amounts of very valuable stuff that goes in and out that won’t be taking place.
“Huge amounts of inbound tourism – there will be tens of thousands of people who were planning to come to the UK and spend lots of money and create jobs and pay taxes over the weekend and in the weeks ahead, and they have not been able to get here. And so I’m afraid it will have an impact on the economy.”
Simon Calder told GB News that the fire has caused major ’emotional harm’ to travellers
GB News
A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said “significant disruption is expected over the coming days”.
Hillingdon Council has said that the fire is now “under control”, but due to a “significant amount of smoke, a 200-metre cordon has been established”, with around 150 people were evacuated.
They warned residents: “Please avoid the area wherever possible. Due to the significant amount of smoke, the London Fire Brigade is strongly advising local residents to keep their windows and doors closed.”
Currently, the Elizabeth line is entirely suspended between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow.
