UK diversion airports must up their infrastructure game

‘Passengers don’t deserve to end up on random Atlantic islands, Simon Calder is told after Heathrow’s stressful week

- Simon Calder

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.