Heathrow chaos could last for DAYS – it’s the airport’s biggest disruption since Iceland volcano carnage 15 years ago
BRITISH holidaymakers heading abroad this morning woke up to the news of a huge fire near Heathrow Airport, which has caused the cancellation of all flights today.
The fire – which broke out late last night at a nearby electrical station – means no flights will land or take off until midnight tonight.
And the airport’s closure is likely to cause massive disruption in the coming days as more than 291,000 impacted passengers struggle to get to their destination.
The last time Heathrow was closed for such a significant period was after the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland which saw Heathrow and airports across the continent impacted for five days by the volcanic ash cloud.
To give an idea of the scale of disruption after just one day of closure like today, we can look back to December 2010 when a snowstorm saw the airport close.
More than 4,000 flights were cancelled over the following five days.
Today alone, 1,351 flights were due to take off and land at the UK’s largest airport, according to data from Cirium.
More than 120 flights were already in the air and on their way to Heathrow when the fire broke out.
Planes have been diverted to airports across the UK and Europe or have turned around and flown back to their departure point.
Those who managed to land at a UK airport should count themselves lucky as they can at least continue their journey back to Heathrow via road or rail.
Those who have landed at airports across Europe or are looking at cancelled flights are not in such a good position.
Scrabbling to find any seats on other flights due to take off over the weekend, those impacted today will effectively go to the bottom of the queue.
While there is of course no compensation due as airlines are not at fault they do have a duty of care to passengers – providing them with food and drink, hotels overnight if necessary and a way to contact loved ones.
The issue is going to be the sheer size of disruption.
Airlines are used to crises and have contingency plans but the scale of this will be a logistical nightmare for them.
British Airways will be the most impacted as it is responsible for 51 per cent of the flights taking off and landing at Heathrow today, followed by Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
What was the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption?
Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland erupted in April 2010 which caused widespread disruption across Europe.
The eruption released a massive ash cloud into the atmosphere, leading to the closure of airspace across much of the continent for several days.
More than 95,000 flights were cancelled during the six-day airspace closure, stranding millions of passengers and affecting global travel.
The volcanic ash posed a risk to aircraft engines, making it unsafe to fly.
Anyone who has to shell out for food, hotels or calls while trying to deal with this if there airline does not should keep all receipts and keep any purchases reasonable – no 5* hotels or champagne.
Right now, the airport and airlines are in crisis mode.
Heathrow had contingency plans but the size of the fire at the substation was unprecedented and back up plans were thrown into chaos.
The latest update from the airport warns passengers to not travel to the airport under any circumstances, saying they expect significant disruption over the next few days.
And in the coming weeks, no doubt questions will be asked as to how the UK should be protecting critical infrastructure to prevent this ever happening again.
Here’s everything you need to know about your rights and compensation if you flight has been cancelled today.
What are your rights if your flight is cancelled?
James Flanders, Chief Consumer Reporter
UNDER UK law, airlines are required to pay compensation to passengers when their flights are delayed or cancelled.
However, you only have the right to compensation in some circumstances.
There are two key factors:
– How severely you have been inconvenienced – for instance, if you have only been delayed slightly, you may not be entitled to compensation
– The cause of the delay – if the delay was caused by an “extraordinary circumstance” you will not be entitled to compensation.
Unfortunately for passengers due to travel today, airlines will largely view today’s circumstances as out of their control.
This would qualify as an “extraordinary circumstance” and justify their move not to pay out to affected customers.
However, if your cancelled flight falls under UK law, your airline is obligated to either provide you with a refund should you no longer wish to travel, or arrange for you to be rebooked on an alternative flight.
If you still want to travel, your airline must find you an alternative flight.
It’s up to you whether to fly as soon as possible after the cancelled flight, or at a later date that suits you.
Although most airlines will book you onto another of their flights to the same destination, if an alternative airline is flying there significantly sooner or other suitable modes of transport are available then you may have the right to be booked onto that alternative transport instead.
If you do take an alternative flight, you’re entitled to care and assistance while you wait, which usually means refreshments, access to communications.
You may also be entitled to accommodation and the necessary transfers if the flight is delayed until the next day or later and you’re stranded.
If your airline advises you to make alternative travel arrangements and claim back the cost later, you should incur reasonable costs and keep all receipts.