Weather & Technical Diversions, Delays & Cancellations

[Birmingham Aviation]

I know this has nothing to do with Heathrow but this is why British airways should base at other airports across the uk.
They literally have no back up plan for these types of situations like closing the airports or being a standby for Diverting away.Might get a bollocking for this however it’s my understanding of a view.

 

[RichL]

These situations are as rare as hens teeth though.

Surely the power is back on they just don't want to take the risk?

A bit pointless opening at midnight when the curfew kicks in either.

 

[Jerry]

I know this has nothing to do with Heathrow but this is why British airways should base at other airports across the uk.
They literally have no back up plan for these types of situations like closing the airports or being a standby for Diverting away.Might get a bollocking for this however it’s my understanding of a view.

But that's not BAs business model though especially when it comes to Heathrow.

 

[Birmingham Aviation]

But that's not BAs business model though especially when it comes to Heathrow.

My point being is Heathrow needs to be having a emergency plan for this type of situation.Remember 9/11(I wasn’t born) and majority of airports weren’t ready for I.E Luton.

 

[Jerry]

My point being is Heathrow needs to be having a emergency plan for this type of situation.Remember 9/11(I wasn’t born) and majority of airports weren’t ready for I.E Luton.

A closure like this for just 1 day though is an incredibly rare event though and its down to the airlines not the airport to do alternatives but for many it's just operationally easier to cancel the flights for the day.

 

[gulftraveller]

Sadly, airlines cannot build in permanent protection for rare events such as snow and fog, if they only occur one or two days per year. Even less so for a loss of power owing to a fire which must be a one in a million occurrence. But I do think that LHR and other major airports will wish to review their contingency plans after today’s events.

 

[mullion]

The Thai cancelled in the end, the question about ETH is where they would pick the pax up in London to bring up to Manchester

 

[RichL]

I thought the crew would have been out of hours anyway after such a long flight,

 

[KARFA]

My point being is Heathrow needs to be having a emergency plan for this type of situation.Remember 9/11(I wasn’t born) and majority of airports weren’t ready for I.E Luton.

there is a plan, what do you think has been happening today? do you see aircraft falling out of the sky because they have nowhere to land?

i think the idea that any airline should start operating routes from airports because it is possible they could use that airport for diversions om some day in the future is an easy way to lose money very quickly.

 

[Aviador]

I know this has nothing to do with Heathrow but this is why British airways should base at other airports across the uk.
They literally have no back up plan for these types of situations like closing the airports or being a standby for Diverting away.Might get a bollocking for this however it’s my understanding of a view.

It sounds a nice idea but let's face it, the majority of London bound traffic as a hub airport will have passengers continuing onto the continent. BA aren't going to move to the regions and reduce their hub operation.

 

[thunderchild]

Has anyone checked the local churches around Heathrow? #DieHard2

 

[Ianbutty]

Has anyone checked the local churches around Heathrow? #DieHard

If it was sabotage, I hope the ebike mounted $#&@s or the terrorist or whatever they are who did this are properly dealt with.

If it was an accident no doubt a gazillions of enquiries will be launched to reveal it as a dodgy fuse or something like that.

Feel for those affected, but the birds in my part of Essex are loving having the skies to themselves today.

 

[David_itl]

An easier way for airlines to react to these unusual circumstances would be to do what LH and EK did is i.e. upgrading existing routes to the likes of BRS, MAN and BHX as they would in theory have the "LHR" aircraft doing nothing as those routes tend to use larger aircraft e.g., Finnair using A321 or A350 to MAN in place of the E190s, LH, LX and AF using A321s to BHX and MAN.

Potentially some of the long-haul routes expected lunchtime onwards could have been routed to the UK so although the edict of "don't travel to LHR" would still have been in place, those arriving passengers could still have actually be in the UK and make their own way home rather than have the problems of having to find room on subsequent services for those passengers going to the UK as well as the issue of those booked to leave the UK, The downside is finding coach companies who had available resources to help out for those passengers who needed to be in the London area would have been the problem.

 

[gulftraveller]

As you say, transporting passengers to and from London from diversion airports is a key problem. Best solution is to cancel all the flights and try again the next day.

 

[GliderPilot]

I was surprised that BHX didn't have a bigger role in this, just considering its transport links to the capital and being one of the closest outside London. I vaguely remember a day a few years ago now where LHR was weather-closed and BHX had taken all sorts.

 

[HPsauce]

I was surprised that BHX didn't have a bigger role in this, just considering its transport links to the capital and being one of the closest outside London. I vaguely remember a day a few years ago now where LHR was weather-closed and BHX had taken all sorts.

I suspect the sudden unforseen closure meant that airlines put their individual ' emergency alternatives ' into place. In most cases dropping in to the nearest airports that could accommodate them.
As Heathrow closed during it's nightly closed period ( 1.44am BST), all the airborne craft were still a long way off from landing.
Very different circumstances to weather closure situations.

 

[Deleted member 8277]

I was surprised that BHX didn't have a bigger role in this, just considering its transport links to the capital and being one of the closest outside London. I vaguely remember a day a few years ago now where LHR was weather-closed and BHX had taken all sorts.

I don't think there was enough widebody stands available. 3 TUI 787 were on the deck AM and the BA 787 along with the EK A380 due at lunchtime also stand is 41 dug up. Most LHR inbounds were longhaul.

 

[Land23R]

I suspect the sudden unforseen closure meant that airlines put their individual ' emergency alternatives ' into place. In most cases dropping in to the nearest airports that could accommodate them.
As Heathrow closed during it's nightly closed period ( 1.44am BST), all the airborne craft were still a long way off from landing.
Very different circumstances to weather closure situations

It would have been interesting and speculative had the official closure due to the fire happened a couple of hours or so later. Whether airports like BHX, MAN, & LGW could have taken more in such circumstances is maybe doubtful, but none went to STN as far as I know, nor EMA. I imagine EDI is pretty limited too.
It appears no airport took more than 6 or 7 diversions, and that includes FRA, CDG & AMS. Not sure about SNN.

 

[Seasider]

Don't forget that most flights were cancelled, it was mainly long haul that didn't turn back, that diverted.

 

[GliderPilot]

I agree that it would have played out much differently had the failure happened during the day when all the holding "stacks" are at capacity, even before any sort of disruption. Flights would start getting close to reserve fuel very quickly and have few options to choose from. There'd still be a few long-haul operators who choose airports on the continent where they have another operation though, I'd imagine.

To completely contradict my last point, even from an airline's perspective, I'd have thought that they'd want to use BHX primarily to shove those unfortunate enough to be caught up in it onto WCML trains straight into Euston, and potentially bring up passengers and crew to get flights going back out again to reduce the workload on the following days when 'normality' resumed, must be absolute carnage trying to squeeze stranded pax on the following days' busy services and reposition aircraft/crew and slot them back into timetables. What a headache.

I am fairly sure I'd seen that two Virgin Atlantic flights had planned for BHX originally and ended up in Glasgow, If I'm a passenger there looking to get back to London I know which one I'd rather.