James May, 62, applauded by fans as he lays into Heathrow closure chaos with ‘brilliant’ swipe
Former Top Gear star James May has poked fun and given a little light to his X fans after the chaos which has been caused by Heathrow Airport being closed following a fire.
Heathrow Airport was forced to close until 23.59 tonight following a significant fire at an electrical substation in Hayes this morning.
The blaze caused a major power outage across the airport, which lead to authorities shutting down all operations.
“Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” the airport previously said in a statement.
The London Fire Brigade described the incident as “significant”, with images on social media showing huge flames and smoke rising from the substation.
The fire was first reported at 11.23 pm yesterday, with ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters being deployed to tackle the blaze at the substation in Hayes.
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The fire caused widespread power disruption beyond the airport itself, with flights being delayed and cancelled throughout Europe.
Whilst many have been left disrupted by the incident, May decided to lighten the mood and post a sarcastic post on his X account.
He penned: “I’m in London W6, about nine miles (c.15km) from Heathrow. I have a 30m extension lead. Anyone else?”
This left many of his 3.1 million followers to quickly flock to the comment section to jump on the bandwagon, as one noted: “We could all go there with our power banks as well to help!”
I’m in London W6, about nine miles (c.15km) from Heathrow. I have a 30m extension lead. Anyone else?
— James May (@MrJamesMay) March 21, 2025
Another joked: “I’ve got a spare power bank and a deep sense of futility. If we all believe strongly enough, maybe Heathrow will start running on hope and disappointment.”
“Your genius is almost frightening,” a third said before someone else added: “You could send the hamster around to do his bit in the wheel.”
A fifth quipped: “I can bring my bike over, it has a dynamo on the rear wheel.” (sic)
Heathrow normally handles around 1,300 takeoffs or landings daily, serving over 80 million passengers annually.
The airport serves 200 destinations in more than 80 countries, with passengers typically having access to four terminals.
In a statement, Heathrow officials said: “Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery.
“We’re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft.
“We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly,” the statement continues.
“Our priority remains the safety of our passengers and those working at the airport. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident.
“As the busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow uses as much energy as a small city, therefore getting back to a full and safe operation takes time. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident.”