“Due to the closure of London Heathrow Airport until 23:59 on March 21, flight WB711 on March 20 from London to Kigali and flight WB710 on March 21 have been cancelled,” RwandAir said in a statement, assuring affected passengers that updates would be provided as soon as there were changes to the situation at Heathrow Airport.

Heathrow Airport experienced a power outage starting on the night of March 20, 2025, following a fire that damaged the Hayes substation transformer, which supplies electricity to the airport.

The airport management immediately announced that all operations would be halted until 11:59 PM on March 21, 2025, to ensure the safety of passengers and staff, with no one allowed to enter the airport until operations resumed.

International media reports indicated that over 10,000 flights were cancelled due to the power issue.

RwandAir has been flying to London daily for many years. Since May 9, 2024, the airline has been operating from Heathrow Airport, Terminal 4, with flights between London and Kigali. This decision was made following an increase in passengers traveling from the UK to Rwanda.

Typically, passengers departing from Kigali to Heathrow fly at 13:45 and arrive at 23:45, while another flight departs at 23:25, arriving in the UK at 07:45.

In 2023, Heathrow Airport ranked as the fourth busiest airport globally, with 83.9 million passengers passing through.

RwandAir has cancelled two flights over temporary closure of London Heathrow Airport.