It is estimated that 15,000 passengers on 90 flights will be affected. Landings range from a Loganair ATR72 suburban aircraft serving the Isle of Man to an Emirates Airbus A380 carrying nearly 500 passengers in Dubai. Virgin Atlantic canceled at least three transatlantic flights, including departures to New York and Los Angeles. British Airways, which operates some flights from Terminal 3 as well as its main junction at Terminal 5, said it had made “a small number of cancellations”. All three departures originally planned by BA to Toulouse are landings, along with two of the four Marseille flights. An airline spokesman said: “We are in contact with affected customers to apologize, inform them of their consumer rights and offer them alternatives, including refunds or reservations.” Other cancellations identified by The Independent include:
Aegean: Athens Air Canada: Toronto Air France: Paris Air India: Ahmedabad Eurowings: Cologne ITA: Rome KLM: Amsterdam SAS: Copenhagen Switzerland: Zurich TAP Portugal: Lisbon
The request came at the end of the weekend during which the airport had problems with luggage. The complex luggage system at Terminal 2 failed on Friday, causing what became known as a “luggage mountain” outside the building. The collection of hundreds of luggage was finally dismantled on Sunday afternoon, with a group of workers loading the bags into vehicles. It goes without saying that some of the luggage may be shipped by truck to Europe to be distributed to its owners. Many arriving passengers face long waits for their luggage after exhausting long-haul flights. Chelsea Allison, who had arrived from San Francisco with her husband and 10-month-old baby, waited for hours for the bags to be unloaded and transported in the parcel. He told the Independent: “Our flight from San Francisco was delayed by almost two hours due to problems in London. [affecting the outbound flight]. “Getting off the plane was delayed due to staff problems. We sit in the luggage compartment for three and a half hours. “ Virgin Atlantic told her it could deliver the bags to its Essex home, but warned it could take up to a week. A Heathrow spokesman said: “We unreservedly apologize for the inconvenience to passengers this weekend. “The technical issues affecting our luggage systems led us to the decision to ask the airlines operating in terminals 2 and 3 to consolidate their routes on Monday, June 20. “This will allow us to minimize the ongoing impact and we ask all passengers to contact their airlines for the latest information.” The reason for the cancellations is considered an “emergency” – meaning that passengers are not entitled to cash compensation from their airline. However, airlines must bring travelers to their destination as soon as possible, even if it means paying to fly to a rival airline. Hotels and meals must also be provided.
