Some travelers were heading to weddings, some To the funerals. Others were leaving for a vacation in Disneyland Paris, where they were making a working trip to Britain, returning home from a honeymoon in Italy or moving to Australia.
Instead, on Friday, they found themselves sitting on the airport floors, riding buses or logging into hotels where they were cut off tens of thousands of passengers – unable to reach their destinations due to the power outages that closed Heathrow Airport.
“It is a crazy situation,” said Roxanta Bajirzadeh, who was missing the celebrations of the new Persian year with her family in London because her journey from New York has never started.
Some Midocatean flights to Madrid or Montreal have been re -directed. Others were forced to return completely. Trippers are held in American schools in London. Musicians are concerned that they will miss their performance. Some travelers wrapped circular around Europe to reach their families. Others had to give up big plans.
“I would have suggested,” said Kevin Black, a Pass player on Europe with his band, who was supposed to join his girlfriend. But her journey turned and returned to Nashville.
Mr. Black said of his suggestion planned on their European journey: “It was one of the bridges overlooking the river at sunset” in Paris, Mr. Black said of his suggestion planned on their European journey. Now, he said: “It is possible that it is in a waterfall in Tennessee. What can I do?”
As airlines are struggling to respond to huge amounts of requests, many passengers were unable to reach them. Travelers said that flights for the next few days were quickly seized, and the only remaining remaining prices were.
The power outage also came because many Americans started on the spring vacation, which disrupted family plans.
“Instead of fish and potatoes, we have children at home. He said that they are now returning home in search of other options for the spring vacation, but international flights have become expensive. He said, “We are somewhat stuck.”
While the passengers were in the second largest airport in London, Gatwick, who received many flights that went to Heathrow, in long queues at auxiliary offices. Heathrow, which was usually one of the most busy airports in the world, was deserted. The landing area was 3 silent, and the corridors and meters of airlines were empty.
The teacher, who was trying to go home to Dallas, tried to walk between the stations when he was not allowed to enter Heathrow. Another traveler, Monne Billy, tried to walk to the station along the highway with his bags when police officers stopped him from preventing the road to the station. Mr. Billy said it was a “scene of chaos.”
The power outage, caused by a fire at an electrical sub -station near Heathrow, forced the authorities to close the airport for most of Friday. While some flights were appointed to appeal Friday at a later time, airlines officials have warned that travel disorders may last for several days.
A quick look at the Heathro Aviation Information Council on Friday morning gave a feeling of the size of the shock waves from the closure. Flights from Brunei, India and Vietnam were scheduled to reach the Earth, and the passengers expected to ride dozens of destinations: Miami, Singapore, Tokyo … the list continued.
Rachel Morris was eagerly awaiting her sister in Philadelphia to join the wedding on Saturday, but her journey was canceled from London. “I am destroyed,” Mrs. Morris said. “She is a maid of honor and the best friend of mine and planned everything.”
Stephen McCray had been stranded in London, where he traveled from Seattle to make a written tour of his first wife’s horror novel.
“We want to go home,” said Mr. McCray, 36. “Our dogs are waiting for us.”
Travelers moved to the social media to complain about the turmoil and sought to help airlines. One wrote that He had to withdraw Starring Pokémon Go, others are no longer able to run in the half -marathon that she trained.
“It is sad to miss it,” said half of the marathon’s runner, Samira de Blage, who was planning to fly from Amsterdam to the race in Reading, west of London, on Sunday.
Mrs. Bajirzadeh published Tijk what he called “the best travel blog in all times.” In it, she sat on the plane, took the first step of the skin care routine on the plane and trimmed her hair so as not to become chaotic on the flight.
“Everything was for nothing,” she said in a phone call.
Mrs. Baghrazadeh, 27, intended to eat dinner with her grandmother, who traveled to Britain from France for this occasion. Instead, I sat on a plane on the airport runway for two hours before going down and returning home.
“I have a quick cry, because I wanted to see my mom,” said Ms. Baghrazadeh.
Dozens of airlines flies to Heathrow from about 180 cities worldwide. Many of the aircraft already in the air have been forced to shift to another place when the airport was closed. John F. Kennedy International in New York, most of the flights to arrive in Heathrow on Friday; Some were transferred to Manchester, in northwest England; To Glasgow. Or to Reykavik, Iceland.
Up to 290,000 passengers travel inside or outside Heathrow, closed, according to Cirium, an analytics analysis company. On Friday, 669 trips from Heathrow were scheduled to take off.
Heathrow is the main axis of the British air people, who said he was directing flights to other airports in Britain when it is possible.
At Fiumicino Airport in Rome, dozens stood at the British Airways table, including a group of high school students from Arizona who planned to fly home through Heathrow a week later in Italy.
Among the chaos, panic and frustration, some are still trying to look at the upward trend.
Marilyn Lieblank said she was flying from Boston to Dublin when the pilot announced that due to the fire in Heathrow they would return back. But because the plane needed refueling, it was transferred to Canada for fuel.
“So we left Boston at about 7 pm on Thursday evening and we returned on Friday morning at 5 am,” said Mrs. Lieblank. “Just a beautiful Sunday around the ocean!”
Reports previously contributed Nicholas Young From Singapore Jonathan Wolf and For forget From London and Matthew Makk Beige From Rome.
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