Heathrow Airport closure: Travellers alter, cancel plans after Singapore-London SIA flight returns to Changi

SINGAPORE: Passengers heading to London from Singapore are uncertain about their travel plans after the closure of Heathrow Airport, with some even cancelling their trips. 

Among those who were most affected by the disruptions to flights caused by the airport’s closure were passengers on Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ308, which was on its way from Singapore to Heathrow on Friday (Mar 21) but turned back to land at Changi Airport. 

According to data from online flight tracking service Flightradar24, the flight took off at about 9.42am and turned around off the coast of Bangladesh before landing at about 4.23pm.

When CNA arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 3 at 4.40pm, airport staff had set up a cart with water for the passengers. Passengers started streaming out around 10 minutes later. 

Two Singaporeans on the flight, Sylvester Fedor, 40 and Emily Seow, 35, decided to cancel their 12-day Europe trip altogether in light of the disruptions. 

They were supposed to make multiple stops during their trip to London, as well as Florence and Rome in Italy.

They told CNA that while foreigners who were on the flight got hotel rooms for the night, Singaporeans who have a home here did not.

“We were told to actually go home and expect an email within 24 hours, which actually I think it’s quite insulting for us,” said Mr Fedor, who works in business development.

He added that it is too much of a hassle to rebook everything, as his entire itinerary has been affected. Instead, he is looking to make alternative travel plans and claim his forgone expenses through travel insurance.

“We’re just going to go home and repack our suitcases without winter gear, I guess, and then maybe do something within Asia for now,” he said.

WHAT CAUSED HEATHROW AIRPORT TO CLOSE

A fire at an electrical substation in west London prompted a power outage that led to the closure of the United Kingdom’s busiest airport. 

At least 120 flights that were in the air had to be diverted to other airports, and a Heathrow spokesperson said “significant disruption” is expected in the coming days.

Flightradar24 said that more than 1,000 flights will be affected by the airport’s closure.

Another Singaporean affected was 66-year-old Jacinta Yong, who was looking forward to a two-week trip to London and Edinburgh to meet her daughter and grandchildren. 

She spoke to CNA as she was waiting in the taxi queue before she headed home to search for a new flight option.

“We are going off for holiday, and then I also booked a musical, so I have to cancel, and I’m (likely) not going to get back my money,” said the 66-year-old, who works in the mental health field.

She added that the captain announced the diversion while she was up in the air, but that some passengers had already suspected it would happen as they had seen the news on their phones.

British doctor Phyo Tun, 42, saw that the flight had turned around on the flight tracker on board before the announcement was made.

For about 10 minutes, she was worried about what might have happened. 

“At the time the weather looked all right, (I thought) maybe there was an emergency patient,” she told CNA.

Dr Tun said that she would have preferred it if the flight had been diverted to somewhere between London and Singapore. 

“(We flew) nearly seven hours and (ended up) back in Singapore, then we have to fly back another 13, 14 hours,” she said.

SIA DID WELL IN HANDLING SITUATION: FOREIGN PASSENGERS 

Foreign passengers that CNA spoke to said that while they were disappointed in the delay to their travel plans, they felt that SIA did well in handling the situation. 

They were provided at least a night’s stay at a hotel at Robertson Quay, and were told that they would be contacted by airline staff about a replacement flight. 

Ms Kristen Phillips, an Australian in her 60s, said some passengers were initially concerned that there had been a terror attack in London because not a lot of details were available.

But she said the crew kept passengers informed even though the situation was developing and did a “brilliant” job.

“These things are going to happen, it’s about how they (deal with it) … I couldn’t speak more highly of Singapore Airlines,” she said. 

Retired New Zealanders Ms Jill and Mr Adrian, who declined to share their last names, also said they were impressed with the service provided by SIA. 

“We were told what to do, where to go,” said Mr Adrian, 68. They planned to have a rest in Singapore before going over to London, where they are set to attend a wedding in two weeks.

While most passengers took things in their stride, British passengers Jack Bartholomew and Reece Backshall, both 31, were left bemoaning their bad luck.

This was because the turnaround of SQ308 was the second unexpected delay on their journey back to London from Bali, Indonesia.

The pair had already faced a one-hour delay at Bali’s Denpasar Airport on Thursday, which led to them missing an earlier flight from Singapore to London.

They then caught the next available flight to London, which happened to be SQ308.

“I mean, it’s really bad luck,” said Mr Backshall, who is with the military. “I also had food poisoning, so I was sick the whole flight.”

Mr Bartholomew, who works in construction, said they looked forward to much-needed rest at the hotel provided to them by SIA, while they wait for news of a replacement flight.

“We haven’t slept for a couple of days, it’s just been a nightmare ever since Thursday, and we don’t even know what day it is now,” he said.