The Heathrow shutdown has sparked travel chaos across the globe, with tens of thousands of passengers left stranded at airports overseas and dozens of planes from the US, the Caribbean and India turned around in mid-air.
As one of the world’s busiest airports handling around 1,300 landings and take-offs each day, disruption caused by its closure after a fire at a nearby electricity substation has quickly spread to other countries.
When London Heathrow shut at around 3am, 120 flights were already on their way there, according to Flightradar24. Out of these, 36 were still in the air four hours later as pilots – mainly flying from Asia – scrambled to work out where they could land.
Passengers from as far away as San Francisco, and Perth in were caught in the carnage, with data firm Cirium estimating that 290,000 people who were scheduled to fly to or from the airport will be affected.
BBC weather presenter Simon King revealed his mother had been flying to the UK from Jamaica when her plane was forced to turn around in mid-air because no British airport could take it – with a radar image revealing the dramatic manoeuvre.
Dozens of flights have been diverted to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Lyon and other European cities, stranding tens of thousands of people abroad.
Some planes were even forced to turn back and set down in New York, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Delhi, where Air India has now cancelled all its flights to London. Meanwhile, all 34 flights scheduled from Dublin to Heathrow today have been axed.
BBC weather presenter Simon King revealed his mother had been flying to the UK from Jamaica when her plane was forced to turn around in mid-air
Sharon Towers and her husband sent this picture of them stuck in China today
A departure board at Singapore’s Changi Airport showing cancelled flights to Heathrow
All the mid-air flights en-route to Heathrow which were subsequently diverted
All planes travelling westbound on this graphic had to return to their destination of origin, despite the amount of time they’ve already spend in the skies
A British woman stuck in China with her husband said she had ‘no idea’ about how they would get home after their flight was cancelled.
‘We should have taken off at 1pm local time here. Instead we are stuck at the airport with no idea how and when we will get home!’ she told .
‘We can’t check in to a hotel because of the strict immigration visa policy – to enter back in to the airport we need a boarding pass so customs can confirm when we are leaving the country.’
With many airports already operating at capacity, finding alternative places for flights to land is not always easy.
FlightRadar data reveals a mishmash of different outcomes, with passengers on a flight from Bangkok diverted to Brussels and those flying from New York City heading to Iceland.
Meanwhile, a flight from Boston was sent to Goose Bay Airport in Canada, while others have been sent to Ireland, Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid, or other UK airports including Cardiff and Manchester.
One group of passengers who have been impacted by today’s Heathrow chaos had flown in on British Airways flight (BA56) from Johannesburg, which had been due to connect to a string of other destinations including the USA and Italy.
Among the distressed passengers were Dr Don Cardy, 65, and his wife Sue, 60, who have now had to pay £400 for an Uber to Manchester.
Dr Don Cardy, 65, and his wife Sue, 60, have had to pay £400 for an Uber to Manchester
Manuel, a 35-year-old Italian, had been working in Johannesburg and was struggling to find a way home to Milan
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‘Our car is parked in Manchester Airport ready to pick up and drive,’ Dr Cardy told .
‘It’s been a nightmare to be honest.
‘Nobody could make plans until we had our baggage. It was a mess from the baggage hall and the captain down.’
Dr Cardy explained they had received no information while they waited hours, hoping their baggage would arrive.
‘Then they gave us another carousel, and eventually our baggage came through. No communication, no information – it’s just been terrible,’ he said.
‘When we were on our flight, we landed and the captain said I’m afraid this flight is ceasing here and the implication was that it was the end of their responsibility.
‘The guy next to us was meant to be flying back to Chicago at 11am, but he has no clue where he is going. There were a lot of people travelling to Canada and the States.
Ruben Cortez, 44, from Portland in Oregon had also arrived from South Africa after carrying out missionary work in the country.
‘We just got an announcement saying we would not be landing in Heathrow and we would be landing… I don’t even know where we are at,’ he said.
‘We were told the airplane would be here until further notice and that we had to get off the plane and figure it out.’
Ruben Cortez, 44, from Portland in Oregon had also arrived from South Africa after carrying out missionary work in the country
Passengers on a flight from Perth in queue up at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport after having their 17 hour flight diverted away from Heathrow
When asked if they were going to fly from another neighbouring airport, such as Luton, he replied: ‘Well, that’s what we are trying to find out, we can’t get them on the phone or anything.
‘I’ve been away from home for a while, so I just want to get back to the family.’
Manuel, a 35-year-old Italian, had been working in Johannesburg and was struggling to find a way home to Milan.
‘We were going to Milan; this was just a transitional flight. We were coming back from a job in Johannesburg,’ he said.
‘It’s been a little bit stressful, we have something booked in Italy and that is my problem,’ he added: ‘We have had no help at all, nothing.’
Allie Renison is one of the UK’s leading trade experts and was in Washington for meetings with policymakers.
She took off from the US for Heathrow at around 9pm last night and the British Airways flight was due to land in the UK this morning.
But it turned out the plane never left the confines of North America and the passengers on board were only told just over an hour before they were due to land in London.
Heathrow-bound flights from around America appeared to turn back around late on Friday EST as word of the closure spread, according to FlightRadar
Planes from Dallas, Chicago and Minneapolis all appeared to be returning home after up to three hours in the air
She told it was a ‘shock to the system’ as they were ‘expecting to land elsewhere and not being told until we were virtually back in Washington’.
‘I’m sure the pilot was just being polite in not wanting to wake us up but apparently had been waiting previously to see if they could be diverted somewhere else east of the pond. UK air traffic control said no dice to entering UK air space.
‘They just had to have known a fair bit earlier into a 6 hour and 30 minute flight’.
The announcement led to a scramble to use the plane’s wifi and rebook, but the internet and BA website failed. She is still unable to rebook and fears she could be in the US until next week.
‘While it on the one hand helps that this has happened going into a weekend, I’m very worried if still stranded going into the work week on Monday.
‘I’m hearing from travel and flight experts it could be days’.
Flight US 146 from Newark was among one of the first flights affected by the diversion while already in the air. It is now set to land in Shannon in Ireland shortly after 5am. It was scheduled to land at Heathrow at 5.55am.
Meanwhile the QF9 Qantas flight from Perth to Heathrow has been diverted to Paris as European airports prepare for an influx of planes that are too far into their journeys to turn back.
Amsterdam, Newfoundland in Canada and Helsinki are among some of the cities accepting diverted flights.
Weary passengers at airports across the globe are eagerly awaiting news from their airlines.
One traveler who is waiting in a Toronto terminal said his flight bound for Heathrow still says it is taking off as scheduled in 50 minutes.
‘They don’t have the heart to tell us,’ he wrote on X.
Another traveler, whose plane from JFK took off two hours ago, told DailyMail.com she had been circling the skies of New York since they departed.
She said pilots gave a single announcement ‘about 40 minutes after we took off saying the airport was shut.
‘[The pilot said] we have to circle to dump fuel before landing back at JFK, but didn’t say for how long or if we’d get another flight.’
On a flight from Japan, travelers who have been in the air for 13 hours will find themselves in Helsinki rather than London as planned.
London’s biggest terminals – which facilitates upwards of 200,000 travelers a day – were forced to shut down on Friday after a fire at a nearby substation caused a major power outage
Dramatic images show flames tearing through the structure as smoke billows into the night sky
Other long haul flights which were diverted include a British Airways flight from Doha now arriving in Frankfurt, and another which departed from Nairobi and will land in Manchester.
Some lucky passengers have been diverted to other London Airports. British Airways flights from Johannesberg, Lagos and Cape Town will now touch down at Gatwick.
Travelers from Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Houston, Hamberg, Zurich, Dublin and Barcelona are among scores who will wake to learn their flights have been canceled.
The blaze broke out at 8pm on Thursday and the busy airport, which sees a plane land or take off around every 45 seconds on average, announced its closure six hours later.
FlightRadar24 spokesman Ian Petchenik said that the unplanned closure of Heathrow will be felt by airlines and travelers all over the world.
‘Heathrow is one of the major hubs of the world,’ he told the Telegraph. ‘This is going to disrupt airlines’ operations around the world.’
On a flight from Japan, travelers who have been in the air for 13 hours will find themselves in Helsinki rather than London as planned
A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said: ‘Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation.
‘Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored.
‘To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23h59 on 21 March 2025.
‘We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.
‘We will provide an update when more information on the resumption of operations is available. We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to reassure that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation.’
Footage of the blaze revealed large clouds of smoke billowing into the sky as firefighters worked tirelessly to extinguish it.
Meanwhile videos from inside Heathrow showed the airport lying largely dark amid the power outage.
Flight US 146 from Newark was among one of the first flights impacted by the diversion while already in the air. It is now set to land in Shannon in Ireland shortly after 5am. It was scheduled to land at Heathrow at 5.55am
In addition to the diversions, dozens more flights into Heathrow are being canceled from destinations around the world
Assistant Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, Pat Goulbourne, said: ‘This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible.
‘The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large number of homes and local businesses, and we are working closely with our partners to minimise disruption.
‘Firefighters have led 29 people to safety from neighbouring properties, and as a precaution, a 200-metre cordon has been established, with around 150 people evacuated.
‘Due to the significant amount of smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed.
‘This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night. As we head into the morning, disruption is expected to increase, and we urge people to avoid the area wherever possible.’
The cause of the fire remains unknown. No injuries have so far been reported.