Thousands of passengers are facing delays and cancellations after Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, was forced to close following a fire at a nearby substation.
Travellers heading to weddings, the Arctic Circle, rugby matches and birthdays have been left scrambling to find alternatives.
Around 1,357 flights have been affected, according to data from Flight Radar.
Follow live updates on Heathrow closure
Rugby juniors missing out on ‘trip of a lifetime’
Alex Wiffen says the London Irish Under 12s rugby team have had the “trip of a lifetime” to Dublin thrown into disarray.
Forty-five girls and boys were supposed to graduate from minis to their first junior rugby games this weekend after fundraising for the trip for a year, he said.
A passenger waits for information about his flight to Heathrow. Pic: Reuters
“It’s a trip that’s been happening for 40 years and it’s the inaugural trip for the girls’ team,” says Alex.
“Our flights at 8am this morning were cancelled and now there is no way to get to Dublin.”
Read more: What are your rights if your flight is delayed or cancelled?
The players and 70 parents are now just “praying we can get there ASAP” before their first match against Clontarf Rugby Club tomorrow morning.
Long-awaited best friend’s wedding
One woman in Minneapolis said her husband would miss his best friend’s wedding after their flight was turned around over the Atlantic Ocean.
A passenger checks her phone as she waits to fly to Toronto via Heathrow International Airport. Pic: Reuters
“This wedding is a huge deal because it got postponed due to Covid, then their toddler got leukaemia,” she said.
“Now the wedding is finally happening. We are so gutted,” she said, adding it was the family’s first international flight.
“We are back in our car in Minneapolis heading home at 2.40am with our toddlers wide awake in the back seat wondering why we aren’t in London.”
Husky-sledding in the Arctic Circle
John Climpson said he was up at 3am to fly out to the north of Sweden to start a 240km husky sledding challenge in the Arctic Circle.
“Now the whole trip might be cancelled,” he said.
“Everyone is now desperately trying to rebook hotel rooms at the Terminal 2 Premier Inn.”
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Drone footage shows substation on fire
From Derby to DC for 50th birthday
Virgin Atlantic passenger Andy was supposed to be flying from Heathrow to Washington DC today to start his 50th birthday celebrations.
Instead, he’s stuck in a hotel room he booked for last night to break up the travel day.
“I live in Derby – and I’m unsure whether to stay in London or go home and wait to hear more,” he said.
Heathrow has cancelled all flights until midnight on Friday.
U-turn to the US
Rafa, from London, was on a flight from Dallas when the pilot U-turned at 4am.
“Cannot believe that Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest and best airports, is not running on some sort of independent power to carry on operations,” he said.
“And the decision made to turn around to America is crazy considering how many flight options [there] are from Germany and France back to the UK.”
He added: “Nightmare on all accounts.”
Nigel and Pam Turner
Stuck at Manchester airport
Nigel and Pam Turner have been diverted into Manchester Airport from Heathrow after they flew out from Dubai.
They were expecting to land at Heathrow at 7am – but are now stuck waiting in Manchester Airport until 7pm for an onward flight to Guernsey, which they paid for themselves.
The couple said they only found out what had happened while they were in the air – when they saw the couple in front had the news on their screens, and realised there had been a fire affecting Heathrow.
It wasn’t until the plane was over the English Channel they found out they would actually be landing in Manchester.
Speaking from a coffee shop at T2 arrivals, they said they were in good spirits, but hoping to find somewhere comfortable to wait out the 9 hours before their flight out. “C’est la vie” Nigel said. “Nothing we can do about it”.
