Airlines, including SIA, resume most flights between S’pore and Heathrow after airport reopens

SINGAPORE – Most flights operating between Singapore and London’s Heathrow Airport resumed on March 22, following

a significant power outage

that shut down

the British capital’s main airport,

leaving thousands of passengers and planes stranded.

Heathrow said it

resumed full operations on March 22,

a day after a fire at a substation knocked out its power supply.

According to data from flight analytics firm Cirium, three out of four Heathrow-bound flights operated by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and scheduled to depart from Changi Airport on March 22 were to proceed as planned.

While Flight SQ306, scheduled to depart at 1.10am, was cancelled, SQ308, which was set to leave at 9am, and SQ318, scheduled for 12.45pm, departed from Changi as planned. Flight SQ322 was scheduled to leave at 11.45pm.

Meanwhile, two Singapore-bound SIA flights from Heathrow on March 22 were cancelled, while two others were set to depart as scheduled, according to Cirium’s data.

Two SIA flights that left Singapore for Heathrow on March 20 and 21 were diverted – one to Frankfurt, Germany, and the other to Paris, France – while four scheduled for departure on March 21 and 22 were cancelled. Four Singapore-bound flights from Heathrow on March 21

were also cancelled.

British Airways (BA) and Australian carrier Qantas also operate flights between Singapore and Heathrow Airport.

According to Cirium’s data, BA16 and BA12 departed from Singapore on the night of March 21 as planned.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a BA spokeswoman said the airline expects around 85 per cent of flights flying into and departing from Heathrow on March 22 to operate as scheduled.

But she added that travellers are likely to experience delays as the airline continues to navigate

challenges caused by the power outage.

“We are planning to operate as many flights as possible to and from Heathrow on March 22, but to recover an operation of our size after such a significant incident is extremely complex,” the spokeswoman said.

Flights to Heathrow operated by Qantas resumed on March 21, a spokesman for the airline told ST.

The Singapore-bound Qantas Flight QF2, initially scheduled to depart Heathrow at 8.10pm on March 21, was rescheduled to 12pm on March 22.

Flights between Changi and Heathrow are progressively returning to normal, a Changi Airport Group spokeswoman said.

“Passengers are advised to check with their respective airlines for the latest status of their flights,” she said.