TORONTO — Air Canada and WesJet are among the airlines posting updates in the wake of a massive fire that has impacted London’s Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest in the world.
Air Canada has triggered its flexible rebooking policy for flights in and out of Heathrow for March 21, 22 and 23. More details are here.
So far WestJet has implemented its policy for March 21. Click here for details.
1,350+ FLIGHTS IMPACTED
Hundreds of thousands of passengers faced flight cancelations at Europe’s busiest travel hub after a fire knocked out power to London’s Heathrow Airport, forcing it to close for the day.
At least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow were affected already, flight tracking service FlightRadar 24 said.
Police say there is so far no indication of foul play in the blaze that shut Heathrow but counterterror detectives are leading the investigation into its cause.
The Metropolitan Police force says that is because of the location of the electrical substation fire and its impact on critical national infrastructure.
The force says counterterrorism command has “specialist resources and capabilities” that can help find the cause quickly.
“DISTRESS & DISRUPTION”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is receiving regular updates on the fire that has shut down Heathrow Airport, as he thanked the emergency services tacking the blaze.
Starmer posted on X: “I know the situation in Heathrow is causing distress and disruption, especially for those travelling or without power in their homes. I’m receiving regular updates and I’m in close contact with partners on the ground. Thanks to our emergency workers for keeping people safe.”
The Heathrow closure is drawing comparisons to the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption that closed much of European airspace for five days out of fears volcanic ash could damage jet engines.
Heathrow is one of the world’s biggest airports, but there are five others in the wider London area as well.
HEATHROW ALTERNATIVES
Travellers might be able to rebook through the remaining five airports – City, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Southend – in the aftermath of Heathrow’s closure.
However, they aren’t all easy to reach from Heathrow. While City is in inner London, and buses link Heathrow with Gatwick, the others are further out. Southend is about a 78-mile drive from Heathrow, around the congested M25 orbital highway and then out to the eastern coast of England.
Residents in west London have described hearing a large explosion, followed by a fireball and clouds of smoke, when a blaze ripped through an electrical substation near Heathrow Airport.
Matthew Muirhead, who was working a night shift, said that at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday he saw smoke rising over trees, then “a bright flash of white and all the lights in town went out.”
Delivery driver Adeel Anwar said the heat and billowing smoke from the blaze were “absolutely apocalyptic.” He told Sky News that as he drove past the substation “I just felt the heat … I tried to just get out of the area as quick as possible.”
Firefighters brought the blaze under control after seven hours and were still working to douse the flames on Friday. No injuries were reported.
Electricity supplier National Grid said power was restored to 62,000 customers by Friday morning, with 4,900 still without electricity.
CONTACT THE AIRLINES
Any travelelrs impacted by the Heathrow closure should contact their airline.
If a phone call doesn’t go through, travellers can also try contacting the airline on social media.
Several airlines were responding to passengers’ posts on social platform X on Friday. A representative for British Airways, for example, was telling customers on X to send a direct message to the airline’s account so they could assist in rebooking.
For customers who are seeking a refund or other compensation, a European Union regulation known as EU261 could apply. Because the United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU, however, not every flight will be covered under EU261. The regulation covers flights within the EU, as well as flights departing from the EU to a non-EU country.
Lawrence Hayes was three-quarters of the way to London from John F. Kennedy International in New York when Virgin Atlantic announced they were being diverted to Glasgow.
“It was a red-eye flight and I’d already had a full day, so I don’t even know how long I’ve been up for,” Hayes told the BBC as he was getting off the plane in Scotland. “Luckily I managed to get hold of my wife and she’s kindly booked me a train ticket to get back to Euston (railway station in London), but it’s going to be an incredibly long day.”
The closure of Heathrow rippled through global aviation. The long-haul carrier Emirates in Dubai, which has London as one of its top destinations, cancelled six round-trip flights to Heathrow on Friday alone.
Etihad in neighboring Abu Dhabi cancelled two round-trip flights, while one flight diverted to Frankfurt, Germany. Qatar Airways said at least seven scheduled flights were “impacted,” with its staff working with passengers.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC that the blaze is “unprecedented.”
He said it’s too early to know the cause but that lessons will have to be learned about “protection and the resilience that is in place for major institutions like Heathrow.”
The London Fire Brigade says the electrical substation blaze closed Heathrow Airport is under control.
ONE OF THE WORLD’S BUSIEST AIRPORTS
Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports for international travel. It had its busiest January on record earlier this year, with more than 6.3 million passengers, up more than 5% for the same period last year.
Heathrow normally opens for flights at 6 a.m. due to nighttime flying restrictions. It said the closure would last until 11:59 p.m. Friday.
Seven United Airlines flights returned to their origin or diverted to other airports and its flights Friday to Heathrow were canceled, the airline said.
The FlightAware website showed more cancellations including two from John F. Kennedy International in New York, a Delta Airlines flight and an American Airlines flight.
Other jets were diverted to Gatwick Airport outside London, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Ireland’s Shannon Airport, tracking services showed.
National Rail also canceled all trains to and from the airport.
With file from The Associated Press
