Due to a fire at an electricity substation, Heathrow Airport suspended flights and thousands of travellers were stranded at the airport. However, experts warn that this situation will remain in place for the next few days. Eurostar will be operating extra trains between London and Paris this afternoon following the closure of Heathrow.
Heathrow officials said the airport will remain closed until midnight, but travel disruption is expected to last through the weekend. The shutdown raised intense questions about the resilience of Britain’s largest airport and why it appeared to be so dependent on an electricity substation where the giant fire broke out overnight, according to “The Financial Times”.
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said that 120 flights to Heathrow that were already in the air when the closure was announced had to be either diverted or returned. At least 1,351 flights to and from Heathrow will be affected.
While people who booked directly made posts on social media complaining that they were unable to contact online travel companies, particularly early this morning, agents are working to re-book customers with the help of operators.
Eurostar tried to help the difficult situation and the stranded with additional flights.
Eurostar said the additional capacity will support passengers whose flights to and from Heathrow are currently cancelled or diverted. Two additional trains will leave St Pancras at 15:00 and 16:45 today and two additional trains will depart Paris at 20:00 and 21:45.
All four services will operate with Standard Class seating only, with an approximate capacity of 882 passengers per train.
Many Heathrow-bound flights this morning were diverted to European airports, including Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Some airlines are planning to transfer passengers from Europe to the UK by bus, but many passengers will be looking for alternatives, such as travel by Eurostar.
