London Heathrow is to reopen after power was restored on Friday evening, with some flights expected to resume from 7pm tonight and a full timetable of flights due to operate tomorrow.
“We will now work with the airlines on repatriating the passengers who were diverted to other airports in Europe. We hope to run a full operation tomorrow and will provide further information shortly,” the airport said in a statement.
No flights to or from Ireland will go ahead on Friday evening, with Aer Lingus saying it is planning to run all flights as scheduled on Saturday.
Earlier, the travel plans of thousands of passengers were thrown into chaos following the effective shutdown of one of the world’s busiest airports as a result of a fire nearby overnight.
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All flights between Dublin and Heathrow were cancelled on Friday, a total of 34 flights – 17 inbound and 17 outbound.
Further disruption to flights between Dublin and Heathrow over the coming days was also possible, Dublin Airport said in a statement.
All flights between Heathrow and Cork, Knock and Shannon airports on Friday were also cancelled.
Online flight tracking service Flightradar24 said more than 1,300 flights were disrupted by the closure, with 120 flights to the airport in the air when the closure was announced. A number of airports across the UK and Ireland have helped facilitate diversions.
Shannon Airport said on Friday it had facilitated diverted flights originally scheduled to land at Heathrow, including flights from Toronto, Atlanta, Bridgetown Barbados, Boston, Orlando and Newark.
[ Heathrow cancellations Q&A: what are my rights and options and how do I claim?Opens in new window ]
Passengers looking for updates regarding specific flights or to re-book or change flight are advised to contact their airline directly by phone or online, a spokesman for Dublin Airport said.
Aer Lingus said all its services to and from London Heathrow on Friday were cancelled and the airline would contact passengers directly.
“In total 38 Aer Lingus Heathrow services from and to Dublin, Shannon, Cork and Ireland West Airports have been cancelled today. Our operations teams are in close contact with London Heathrow, and we will resume our schedule to and from London Heathrow as soon as it is possible,” the Aer Lingus spokeswoman said.
British Airways, which also operates flights between Dublin and Heathrow, advised passengers travelling from Heathrow “not to travel to Heathrow airport, but to check on ba.com for the latest flight information”.
On Friday afternoon it said only customers booked on long haul flights to Johannesburg, Singapore, Riyadh, Cape Town, Sydney via Singapore and Buenos Aires via Rio de Janeiro should travel to Heathrow.
Ryanair does not operate flights between Irish airports and Heathrow. However, it announced shortly before 9am that it was operating eight “rescue flights for passengers affected by the Heathrow closure” between Dublin and Stansted airport.
While passengers who have been caught up in the chaos have clear rights under EU law, they are unlikely to be entitled to compensation given the cancellations are beyond the control of the airlines.
Under EU Regulation 261, airlines must offer passengers whose flights have been cancelled a refund or a rerouting on the next available flight or at a later time of your choosing.
If passengers ask for a refund, the airline’s responsibility ends immediately. If they ask to be put on the next available flight, then the airline must provide care and assistance until they can be accommodated.
Dublin man Ed Donlon (34) had to pay for another flight and a night’s accommodation after his flight home from Heathrow with Aer Lingus on Friday night was cancelled.
The airline had rebooked him on to a flight home on Sunday, “but I can’t really keep staying in the UK for no reason until Sunday,” Mr Donlon said, and so he chose to fly from Gatwick on Saturday instead.
His new flight cost £170, and his extra night’s accommodation is £60.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said there was no suspicion of foul play with the substation fire.
Additional reporting: PA
