British Airways passengers from Bermuda face unexpected detours and cancellations following a shutdown of the UK’s busiest airport
Major disruption for those travelling between Bermuda and London after a huge fire at a substation knocked out power at Heathrow Airport.
Last night’s flight from Bermuda was diverted to Madrid.
Passengers took to social media to express their frustrations over the diversion.
One stated that they were without assistance, while another said they, “dumped us without bags, hotel vouchers or alternate flights. Everyone was told to figure it out on their own.”
According to Skyport, the flight was expected to arrive at Heathrow later today after around 7 pm GMT, pending the airport’s reopening.
Meanwhile todays inbound BA159 and outbound BA158 flights have been cancelled.
A Skyport spokesperson said the next scheduled British Airways service is expected to operate on Sunday, March 23, in line with the regular schedule.
Reuters reporting that the blaze closed Heathrow today, stranding passengers around the world and angering airlines who questioned how such critical infrastructure could fail.
Huge orange flames and plumes of black smoke shot into the sky as the fire engulfed the substation late last night, cutting the power supply and back-up system for Europe’s busiest airport.
The cause of the fire was not known, but 25,000 litres of cooling oil in the substation’s transformer had caught fire. Fire crews had brought the blaze under control by early this morning.
Reuters reporting that while Police said there was no indication of foul play, they retained an open mind and counter-terrorism officers would lead the inquiries.
Airline experts said the last time European airports experienced disruption on such a large scale was the 2010 Icelandic ash cloud that grounded some 100,000 flights.
Sean Doyle, the CEO and Chairman of British Airways, described the situation as “unprecedented”.
More than 670 BA flights that were due to operate today carrying 107,000 customers were impacted.
To those islanders with upcoming BA travel itineraries, Skyport advised passengers to contact the airline directly for rebooking options and additional support.
Meanwhile, Heathrow Airport began to resume some flights late this afternoon with full operation expected to resume tomorrow morning.
A post to its social media handle on the platform, X, read: “Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We’re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft.”
