Heathrow closure: ‘Improve UK diversion airports so passengers don't end up on random Atlantic islands'

Independent

26-03-2025

Shannon airport in the west of Ireland and Keflavik airport in Iceland are each beautifully located beside the wild Atlantic. Anyone seeking an escape to the raw edge of Europe should book a flight now.
But both were among the many unexpected destinations for bleary transatlantic passengers on Friday morning.
At 11.20pm on Thursday night, a fire broke out at an electricity substation at Hayes, near Heathrow airport. The supply to the UK's busiest airport was interrupted, and the airport shut down. All scheduled arrivals and almost all scheduled departures were cancelled.
More than 100 inbound flights were already airborne. They either turned around and returned to their starting points, or diverted to dozens of airports across Europe. British Airways moved its earliest arrivals – from Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos and Singapore – down to Gatwick.
But from then on, it was every pilot for themselves. Shannon in the west of Ireland was a particular favourite for inbound flights from Atlanta, Barbados and New York. Reykjavik was the surprise destination for one Heathrow-bound BA flight.
The UK has plenty of airports. But more of the 100-plus planes aiming for Heathrow diverted to overseas destinations than to British locations.
'Passengers don't deserve to end up on random Atlantic islands,' says Matthew Purton. He is group aviation services director at Air Charter Service, an organisation that connects aircraft owners with people needing urgent transport.
His company did some useful business at the weekend. Among other achievements, he flew an entire show production from Bologna to Glasgow after BA was unable to perform. He also organised a flight from Shannon for a disabled passenger whose United Airlines trip from the US to Heathrow was diverted to the west of Ireland.
A diversion is, according to a pilot friend, "an incredibly complex drama'.
He says: 'It's relatively easy for us in the cockpit. But once we ask air traffic control to divert, they have to liaise with airport operations, who check with handling agents, fuellers, immigration officials and even hotels.'
Other issues include firefighting cover and parking space for aircraft and staff – from baggage handlers to passport officials – to cope with the unexpected influx. Yet some Atlantic locations specialise in providing facilities, says Purton.
'At places like Keflavik, Bermuda, Halifax and Gander [both in Canada], they have the ability to handle diversions at short notice. We don't seem to be able to do so in the UK. We either send the aircraft back to where they came from or we divert them to places like Shannon or Frankfurt.'
Purton himself was on an Emirates Airbus A380 from Dubai that put down in Frankfurt due to high winds at Heathrow in December 2024.
'I think there needs to be a conversation started with all of the airports across the UK, so that when we have these situations where one of the major hubs closes, there is a better diversion plan.
'Places like Manchester and Glasgow, where these flights would normally have gone to, are now full with easyJet and Jet2. Low-cost carriers have come and they've expanded and the airports haven't kept pace with the demand for diversions. Airlines don't seem to have any kind of infrastructure in place for, say, a diversion from Heathrow to Glasgow on a 777 with 300 people.'
Air Charter Services had a lucrative weekend, organising 'long-haul flights at very short notice for some high-end customers'. They included a short-notice trip from Stansted to Washington DC. But Matt Purton would rather be less busy.
'There are questions that need to be asked about the resilience of the UK and these continuing, in quotation marks, 'unprecedented events' that are becoming increasingly more precedented, with increasing regularity.'