Heathrow Closure Strands 100 Students in Spain

Up to 100 students scheduled to travel home from Spain have been delayed after a massive electricity substation fire forced Heathrow Airport to close.

 

The Year 5 students from Nuneaton were scheduled to return early from a trip to Barcelona in two groups, each managed by 11 staff.

 

Diane Compton-Belcher, head teacher of Michael Drayton Junior School, stated that she had communicated with British Airways (BA) and was working on "a few different plans" to return the students.

The airport has warned of "significant disruption" in the coming days, while BA said it was working as rapidly as possible to advise customers.

 

Ms Compton-Belcher stated that there were two plans to get the children home, one of which involved using an alternative aircraft on Friday night.

 

The second step was to arrange for them to stay in Barcelona for an extra night, and "we will do our best to get them back tomorrow," she told the BBC.

 

She told BBC CWR that the students were "completely unaware of any travel disruption" and were content with "a day of activities anyway" until the flights took off at 17:40 GMT and 19:10.

Ms Compton-Belcher said she was "going down all the right channels" in her meetings with BA.

 

"I've spoken to group bookings also, and they've recently just phoned me back," she told me.

 

"The current stance, unfortunately, is that until Heathrow reopens, they cannot book any flights home." So I asked them if I could change to an alternative airport, given that we have Birmingham or Manchester nearby, but they could not, so I am left with a few options."

She also stated that the youngsters were "not to know anything until there is a plan" and were "heading into the parks, and no doubt they'll be returning to the beach."

 

When asked about telling parents, Ms. Compton-Belcher said the school would "communicate [with them] as soon as we can."

 

The Spanish language students were in Barcelona for "a cultural trip with curriculum advantages," she added.

 

BA issued a press release stating that "customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice."

"This will significantly impact our operation and our customers, and we're working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond," said the spokesperson.

 

Heathrow Airport stated that the incident resulted in a "significant power outage."

 

"To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March," according to a statement.

 

"Passengers are urged not to travel to the airport and to contact their airline for more information.  "We apologize for the inconvenience."