HEATHROW Airport was evacuated this morning after reports of a fire.
Passengers were forced out of Terminal Three at Europe’s largest airport as fire crews probe the incident.
The SunTerminal 3 was evacuated[/caption]
Passengers reported huge queues and baggage claim being shut down as staff respond to the alarm.
Arrivals were left in chaos this morning, with immigration lines “not moving” at the airport.
Responding to concerned holidaymakers on X, the airport confirmed that the terminal had been “temporarily evacuated”.
It said: “While the fire service investigate a fire alarm, some areas of Terminal 3 have been temporarily evacuated.
“Colleagues are working as quickly as possible to resolve this, and we apologise for any disruption this may cause to journeys.”
The Sun understands that this has now been resolved, with the operations returning to normal.
One passenger fumed on social media: “Can someone tell us why immigration lines at Heathrow are shut down?
“Been standing here for an hour with no movement in sight.”
Another added: “Border shut down been waiting here forever.
“Why is there not a contingency plan for a situation like this?
“We can’t stay here forever….”
A third wrote: “Fire alarm in baggage claim which is where we exit from passport control. All sealed off for now.
It comes as Heathrow revealed its latest multi-billion-pound upgrade plans for the airport.
Under a new five year plan for 2027 to 2031, it will open a number of new lounges, shops and restaurants within the existing terminals.
For passengers this means there will be additional spaces equal to the size of 10 football pitches to explore.
And the airport aims to lose less luggage, with 99 per cent of bags travelling with passengers.
Flight delays may also be reduced with Heathrow setting out to have 80 per cent of its flights depart on time.
In the airport passengers may have less wait times too, as the airport hopes to have 95 per cent of passengers waiting less than five minutes at security.
Once complete, the airport hopes to be able to serve 10million additional passengers a year.
Heathrow is also planning the redevelopment of the Central Terminal Area – which will involve demolishing Terminal 1, extending Terminal 2 and building a new southern road tunnel to improve access to the airport.
According to the airport, Heathrow is the most punctual major airport in Europe this year.
And as the airport continues to grow, it will also focus on becoming more sustainable by doing things such as providing noise insulation to 6,500 homes.
The airport also aims to work with one million people in the local area with programmes developing skills by 2030.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Heathrow could sue the National Grid after a huge substation fire in March halted flights for 24 hours.
The blaze affected 270,000 passengers and cost the airport millions.
A probe by the National Energy System Operator found faulty fire safety equipment and moisture in electrical parts flagged in 2018 were not addressed, and maintenance was delayed again in 2022.
The North Hyde substation fire was caused by “catastrophic failure” in a transformer, triggered by moisture entering electrical components.
Heathrow’s network was not designed to recover quickly.
The airport said it was making improvements.
Energy watchdog Ofgem has now launched a probe into the National Grid, which could result in fines.
Heathrow said: “A combination of outdated regulation, inadequate safety mechanisms and National Grid’s failure to maintain infrastructure led to this catastrophic power outage.”
National Grid said it had “taken action”.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called the findings “concerning” and promised action to prevent similar incidents.
APHeathrow may sue the National Grid after a probe found a fault causing the huge substation fire was identified seven years ago[/caption]
PALondon Heathrow Airport has revealed a new £10billion makeover plan[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
