Travel, Tourism & Hospitality
Gulf Air flights hit by London Heathrow shutdown
Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air has confirmed that some of its flights have been affected by the closure of London Heathrow Airport after a fire at a nearby electrical substation brought Europe's busiest airport to a standstill for most of the day.
Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air has confirmed that some of its flights have been affected by the closure of London Heathrow Airport after a fire at a nearby electrical substation brought Europe's busiest airport to a standstill for most of the day.
Gulf Air said it was working closely with related authorities to help affected passengers as well as assisting them with alternative travel arrangements and accommodation.
"We regret any inconvenience caused and assure valued passengers that we are closely monitoring the situation to resolve it as soon as possible. The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain a top priority," stated the national carrier in a statement.
Meanwhile BBC reported that flights had started landing and taking off at Heathrow again.
British Airways expects 85% of its Saturday schedule at Heathrow to run, but that it is likely that all travelling customers will experience delays, stated the report citing the UK flag-carrier.
In a statement tonight, the airline said it was planning to operate "as many flights as possible" to and from Heathrow on Saturday, "but to recover an operation of our size after such a significant incident is extremely complex".
"We will be contacting all affected customers to advise them of their options, and we thank them for bearing with as work through these solutions," it added.
Heathrow Chief Executive Thomas Woldbye apologised to passengers for the disruption calling the incident "as big as it gets for our airport."
He said it was now prioritising customers diverted to European airports, and hoped to run a full service on Saturday.