Dozens of airlines have cancelled flights to and from Heathrow Airport today after a major fire caused the travel hub to shut down.
Around 220,000 people were due to travel through Heathrow today. The chaos is likely to impact flights over the weekend as airlines worldwide rush to deal with the backlog. Many passengers and planes will find themselves in the wrong place, meaning flight patterns will have to be adjusted to get them home.
At least 1,357 flights have already been cancelled, diverted or delayed today, while some planes already on the way to London diverting to other nearby airports. Those closeby including Gatwick Airport are already full, meaning longer haul flights may be pushed further afield.
So far, dozens of flights have been diverted to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Lyon and other European cities, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded across Europe. Some planes have been forced to turn back to New York, Los Angeles and Mumbai.
Have you been swept up in the chaos? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
In terms of departures, almost all flights are cancelled up until about 10.30am this morning. After that, most are listed as ‘on time’ on the live Heathrow departures board. However, this seems to be a little hopeful, as the knock-on impact of the dozens of delays and cancellations this morning is likely to push the schedule back significantly, even when the airport is up and running again.
When it comes to arrivals, many flights were able to land early this morning or were diverted to other airports. In a bid to control the chaos, the majority have been outright cancelled this morning and into the afternoon. British Airways flights from Manchester Airport, Iberia flights from Madrid, and Air France flights from Paris have all been cancelled.
The list of airlines is likely to grow throughout the day as Heathrow officials battle to get everything under control. If you are due to fly today but are unsure if your flight will be impacted, make sure to check in with your airline and visit the Heathrow website’s arrivals and departures board for regular updates.
As they scramble to deal with the evolving picture of chaos, airlines have been updating their passengers with the latest advice. Shortly before 9am Virgin Atlantic urged customers due to fly out from Heathrow today not to head to the airport before 6pm.
“We are sorry about the disruptions caused by the fire. If you are due to arrive/depart LHR before 6pm ( although this may change) then please don’t head to the airport and await a further update,” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson wrote on X.
This is shaping up to to be the biggest disruption for UK aviation since the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud grounded hundreds of flights 15 years ago. That cost an estimated £130million a day.
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