Flight cancellations and diversions to France as London Heathrow airport closes due to fire
Over 1,000 flights are affected. We look at what rights passengers have
Flights from as far as Australia have been re-routed due to the incident
Adrian Chandler/Shutterstock
London Heathrow airport is closed today (March 21) after a power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation.
It has led to the cancellation or re-routing of over 1,300 flights to and from the airport according to plane tracker FlightRadar24.
This includes several flights between the London airport – Europe’s largest – and French counterparts.
The earliest Heathrow airport is currently set to open is just prior to midnight (23:59 on March 21).
“Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” the airport announced last night.
“Passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” it added.
At the time of the announcement early this morning, more than 120 flights to London Heathrow were airborne, causing some to return to their point of departure or be re-routed.
Some flights were rerouted to Paris – including services between Australia and London. Several others were forced to land at other major European airports.
London’s other major airports are unaffected by the incident, however they are likely to see increased traffic as passengers seek alternative options for travel.
What rights do affected passengers have?
Those scheduled to travel to or from the airport today should contact their airline to see if alternative arrangements have been made.
Passengers who are departing the UK (with any airline), travelling between the UK and EU on an airline based in either area, or vice versa between the EU and UK (with a UK/EU airline) are protected under UK law in the event of a cancellation.
Any Connexion readers due to travel from France to Heathrow therefore come under these rules.
The rules state that travellers must be given care and assistance from their airline, which can take the form of:
Food and drink, often in the form of vouchers – if the airport is busy due to a mass event passengers can keep receipts from items purchased themselves and claim these back from the airline later
Communication (free calls, or refunding the cost of a call)
Accommodation at a nearby hotel if stuck overnight or put on a flight the following morning, plus the cost of travel to and from this accommodation
Passengers have a right to these for as long as the disruption lasts.
Read more: How do refunds for a cancelled flight work in France?
Read more: Travel: How to be reimbursed if flight or rail trip is affected by strike action in France
Airlines must also book passengers on the next available flight to their destination if they so wish, including using a different carrier.
Rules may vary slightly for those travelling into the UK from outside of the EU.
Passengers can choose between alternative flight arrangements or receiving a refund from the airline for their ticket, but cannot choose both.
Will travellers receive compensation?
If a flight is cancelled with less than 14 days notice (as is the case with Heathrow), travellers may be entitled to additional compensation on top of the refund/alternative travel arrangements.
However, this does apply in ‘extraordinary circumstances’ outside of an airline’s control such as weather events and it is likely today’s events at Heathrow would be deemed to be ‘extraordinary circumstances’ by most airlines.
The EU is looking to strengthen passenger rights before summer, although legislation is yet to be passed.
Read more: What will expected new European regulations mean for French air travel?
