[SINGAPORE] At least 11 flights between Singapore and London have been cancelled or diverted after Britain’s Heathrow Airport said on Friday (Mar 21) that it will be closed until midnight (8am on Mar 22, Singapore time).
Six of the 11 flights were cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers’ plans in disarray.
In response to The Straits Times’ queries, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said flights SQ305, SQ317, SQ319 and SQ321 that were scheduled for departure from London on Mar 21 have been cancelled.
Flight SQ318, which was supposed to depart from Singapore at 12.45pm on Mar 21, was also cancelled.
Flight SQ308, which departed from Singapore on Mar 21, will return to Singapore and is expected to land at 4.30pm. The flight will subsequently be cancelled.
SIA said it will provide assistance to affected passengers, including hotel accommodation and arranging for alternative flights or land transport.
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Several flights were diverted to the airports of nearby countries.
SQ322, which departed from Singapore on Mar 20, was diverted to Germany’s Frankfurt Airport. SQ306, which departed from Singapore on Mar 21, will be diverted to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport in France.
Qantas told ST that flight QF1 is on its way to London and has been diverted to Paris. The airline has arranged for buses to take customers for an estimated nine-hour ride to London.
Flight QF2 scheduled to depart Heathrow Airport for Changi Airport on Mar 21 is also likely to be impacted.
Qantas added that it is closely monitoring the situation and will contact customers directly if their flights are affected.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, flights BA12 and BA16, which left Singapore on Mar 20 and 21, were diverted to Gatwick Airport.
British Airways said it is working to update passengers on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond. Its spokesman said that it is redirecting inbound flights already on their way to Heathrow to other UK airports instead.
In response to ST queries, Changi Airport Group (CAG) said passengers travelling from Singapore and Heathrow Airport are advised to check with their airlines on their flights’ status.
Passengers can check the status of flights departing from and arriving at Changi on CAG’s website.
A passenger, who wanted to be known only as Ashley, said she was slated to return to Singapore on SQ321 on the night of Mar 21 when she was informed of its cancellation at around 7.30am London time.
The 26-year-old and her mother have been on a holiday in London for a week and now plan to take a train to Brussels to catch a flight to Singapore instead.
“I’m a bit stressed since I am starting a new job next Monday… but I will figure out tomorrow and decide if I want to fly from a different airport,” she said.
Heathrow Airport experienced a significant power outage due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation supplying the airport.
Fire crews are responding to the accident but there is no clarity on when power may be reliably restored, a Heathrow spokesperson told Reuters in an e-mail and added that it expects significant disruption over the coming days.
According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, at least 120 flights will have to divert because of the airport closure.
Dozens of diversions to other airports were already occurring, with Qantas Airways sending its flight from Perth to Paris and a United Airlines New York flight heading to Shannon, Ireland.
Also, a United Airlines flight from San Francisco was due to land in Washington instead of London.
Heathrow is the world’s fifth-busiest international airport in 2025, according to aviation data consultancy OAG. THE STRAITS TIMES
