Heathrow Airport, the world’s busiest airport, is about to face the biggest shutdown in its history. A major power outage from a tree fire in the area is responsible for this unexpected interruption. The eleventh-hour shutdown has caused unprecedented carnage, stranding passengers on thousands of flights around the world. Transportation in the region will be impacted for days to come. Heathrow, based and operated by the same British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, is core to this story.
The end of Heathrow has shaped global air transport history. Fifth, with at least 1,351 flights canceled so far, airports across the world are reeling from the impact. When the initial closure was called, there were more than 120 planes on their way to Heathrow. This unexpected transition made it extremely challenging for them to reroute to other set destinations. Airports including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Shannon and Gatwick have all had to respond to these extra diverted flights.
“The situation at Heathrow Airport is incredibly difficult, an incident like this at one of the world’s busiest airports will have a very significant knock-on impact on all travel for the next few days,” said Julia Lo Bue-Said.
As the busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow connects London with over 230 destinations in almost 90 countries. In 2024, it flew a record-breaking 83.9 million passengers in and out of its terminals. On a bad day, Heathrow very easily deals with 291,000 passengers on a typical day. The airport still has no timeline for when operations will resume, with all operations still announced as being canceled at least until midnight, giving travelers little hope.
“If you are traveling to or from London Heathrow today, please do not proceed to your departure airport at this time,” advised Virgin Atlantic.
The disruption is a unique test especially in light of the big numbers that come with operations at Heathrow. Yet the greater long-term impact of the airport’s closure will likely be an easing of congestion at other London area airports, at which traffic was approaching capacity.
“Therefore, the reality is that the London airports would have been busy today already and this incident will exacerbate it further,” added Julia Lo Bue-Said.
Most recently, British Airways has released advice to their customers amid this stormy period.
“Customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice,” stated British Airways.
Travelers are being presented a variety of good options to reduce the surprise effect on their travel plans. According to an airline's website, passengers can choose to be rebooked onto the next available flight, reschedule their journey for a later date, or change their destination within the airline's direct network. Other refunds are being made available for the people who decide they don’t want to travel anymore.
“This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond,” British Airways said.
With so much angst and compounded grief, travelers and airlines both are prioritizing safety and return.
“Of course, the priority for everyone is safety, and the airport and the airlines will be working hard today to make sure the area is safe and that they can resume operations as soon as possible.”
