UAE residents have been left searching for alternative routes to the UK after London's Heathrow Airport said it would be closed throughout Friday due to a “significant” power failure.
One of the busiest travel hubs in the world ground to a halt in what is being described as “a seismic disruption to global air travel” after a fire at a nearby electricity substation caused the power cut. More than 1,000 flights will be affected, according to Flight Radar.
Deborah Price, who teaches drama and English at Star International School in Mirdif in Dubai, is due to fly back to Heathrow with British Airways at 2.15am on Saturday but was initially panicking that her flight would be disrupted.
“I found out about the problems at Heathrow as I was driving into work on Friday morning,” she told The National. “I was so disappointed, I couldn't believe it. Then I thought, oh well, you know, they've got the day, they'll sort it out, and then I heard they've closed the airport until midnight.”
Ms Price is due to meet her partner in London before travelling together to North Wales and has now told The National her Saturday flight is going ahead as planned. Had she heard that the airport was to remain closed for another day, she was hoping she could be redirected to another London airport, or even Birmingham or Manchester.
The fire has also disrupted passengers travelling to the Emirates from the UK to see relatives.
Karen McMichael, 39, and her mother Hazel Johnson, 74, were due to fly out from Edinburgh to Heathrow this evening to take a BA flight to Abu Dhabi to visit family. A timely call from her brother in the UAE resulted in them booking a flight out of Edinburgh to the UAE through Doha.
“We checked and there is not really an update from BA so we just went ahead and booked a different flight,” Ms McMichael told The National. “We were quite lucky that we managed to do this quickly enough, whereas there must be so many others who are just stuck because flights will be difficult to get now. I feel awful for lots of other people who will be stuck and their plans will be disrupted.”
The Heathrow shutdown would have wreaked havoc on their plans as Ms McMichael and her mother were going to help with her brother's childcare while in the UAE. “It would be a big disruption if we had not been able to make it over,” she said. “We have got a few treats booked and will also help with childcare. So we are happy that we will still be able to do this.”
The closure has paralysed Britain's busiest airport and upended the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers around the world.
“Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power cut,” the airport said on X on Friday morning. “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March.”
What is the impact on international flights?
Friday's closure of London Heathrow will affect more than 1,000 flights, according to Flight Radar. “Today’s total closure of London-Heathrow will affect at least 1,351 flights to/from LHR. That doesn’t include any flights that might be cancelled or delayed due to aircraft being out of position,” Flight Radar said in a post on Bluesky.
Heathrow is also one of the busiest destinations for Gulf airlines. Emirates currently operates 42 flights per week between Dubai and the airport, according to its website.
Emirates said on Friday said it cancelled three flights to and from London Heathrow: EK001/002, EK029/030 and EK031/032. “Passengers booked or connecting on to the cancelled flights to London Heathrow will not be accepted for travel,” Emirates said. “We're monitoring the situation closely and will update our customers as the situation develops.”
Dozens of other flights bound for Heathrow have been diverted to other airports. Godly Babukutty, managing director of Epic Travels in Dubai, said the repercussions would be felt for days.
“Calling it a massive disaster, it’s a very small word for what has happened,” he said. “This will go down in history as one of the worst because an airport the size of Heathrow has stopped for a day.
"From Dubai, we have mainline carriers with multiple services that are usually full to Heathrow and each of those carry 400-plus passengers. Some airlines have five to seven flights a day. And then you add the domestic flights into Heathrow, European flights and the global routes, the knock-on effect will be felt for days.”
His advice to travellers booked to travel to Heathrow on Friday was to avoid heading to London for a few days unless it was critical. “Dubai and London have a strong relationship with a lot of people travelling back and forth for business but I would ask people who were heading to Heathrow to delay travel to London if it can be avoided because there will be a lot of disruption,” he said.
“Other airports, like Gatwick or London City Airport, have their own capacity and to reroute more flights there will be difficult. If it’s possible to reschedule that would be the best option unless there is a family emergency or a conference they must attend.”