Following a fire near Heathrow airport, flights to and from Scotland’s major airports have resumed. Passengers are urged to check their travel plans in advance due to ongoing disruptions expected to last for several days. The chaos began after a transformer in the North Hyde electrical substation in west London caught fire, causing a power outage at the airport.
More than 1,300 flights were impacted on Friday, including British Airways flights to various Scottish airports like Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Inverness. Heathrow reopened late in the afternoon on Friday, prioritizing diverted flights that had been redirected away from London. By Saturday morning, flights from Heathrow to Scotland were operating normally, with some delays and cancellations in the morning but a return to regular service in the afternoon.
Adam Boggon, a doctor from Culross, found himself stranded in America on his way back from Boston to attend a friend’s wedding in Glasgow. Despite the 14-hour delay, he considered himself fortunate and hoped to arrive in time for the evening reception. Unfortunately, Liz Steele missed her son Paddy’s graduation in Stirling due to the disruptions, expressing her devastation at not being able to attend after never missing any of her children’s previous graduations.
Travellers faced financial strain as they scrambled to find alternative flights home, with some shelling out hundreds of pounds to ensure they made it back in time for important events. Graeme Shinny from Aberdeen even paid for a last-minute flight from Athens to Dublin, planning to catch a connecting flight to attend a football match and his son’s birthday. Despite the chaos, Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, defended the airport and its handling of the situation, emphasizing that the issue originated outside the airport and that they were working to mitigate the consequences. British Airways, the most affected airline, assured passengers that 85% of its services would be operational, urging travelers to double-check their flights before heading to the airport
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