Qantas scrambles to make plans for travellers after London flights divert to Paris
Qantas plans to bus passengers from Paris to London after flight diversions caused by Heathrow Airport closure.
London’s Heathrow Airport was forced to close for practically the whole of Friday because of a major blackout, throwing one of the world’s busiest traveller hubs into chaos and forcing airlines to scramble to divert planes.
Qantas diverted its flagship QF1 flight from Sydney to London to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris following the closure of all five terminals at Heathrow due to the fire at a neighbouring electricity substation. Qantas flight QF9 from Perth was also diverted to Paris as the closure caused mass flight cancellations.
“Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” the airport operator said, adding it would be closed until just before midnight on Friday, local time. Qantas was expected to bus passengers on affected flights from Paris to London via the Channel Tunnel.
The London Fire Brigade warned against travel to the airport until it reopened, describing the fire as significant. “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,” said assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne.
“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.”
Around 230,000 passengers a day pass through Heathrow Airport, which typically handles more than 80 million travellers a year.
Data compiled by aviation analytics firm Cirium estimated up to 145,000 people would be impacted by the closure based on the daily total of scheduled flights and capacity.
With more than 100 flights in the air when the closure was announced, airlines scrambled to organise diversions with some returning to the US and Canada, and others heading to Gatwick, Schiphol in Amsterdam and Helsinki in Finland.
Additional reporting: AFP
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