The Flagship Suite debuts alongside an upgraded premium economy cabin - and launches on flights from Philadelphia and Dallas to Heathrow and Brisbane later in the year I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice American Airlines has announced that its new “Flagship Suite” business class will debut on a Chicago to London Heathrow Dreamliner – and tickets are on sale now Customers can visit a dedicated website page to purchase one of 51 Flagship Suite berths on the inaugural service which will depart from Chicago O’Hare on June 5 American Airlines has also launched ticket sales for Flagship Suite services that will begin later in the year – from Philadelphia to Heathrow and Zurich, and from Dallas-Fort Worth to Brisbane Tickets for the “truly premium” Flagship Suite cost from around $3,400 (£2,560) one-way The June 5 flight will also debut an upgraded premium economy cabin with tickets for the 32 seats available starting from around $1,500 (£1,130) one-way The Flagship Suite, designed by Seattle-based firm Teague a wireless charging pad and a “one-of-a-kind chaise lounge seating option with an adjustable headrest pillow” will include “premium” amenity kits “containing an array of luxury skincare items” plus a “comfy duvet blanket” and a “refreshing” dual-sided pillow with cool-touch fabric on one side and traditional fabric on the other The new premium economy seats feature “double the amount of in-seat storage” and headrest wings for “increased comfort and privacy” said: “Every aspect of our new 787-9 is designed to feel premium in nature having the opportunity to explore other parts of the world should be an exciting and memorable experience that begins the moment you book your flight long before you reach your final destination.” American said that it welcomed the first two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners fitted with the new business class and upgraded premium economy cabins to Dallas-Fort Worth last Tuesday American’s Flagship Suite seats will be available on all newly delivered 787-9 aircraft, as well as new Airbus A321XLR aircraft and the airline’s retrofitted Boeing 777-300ERs. The carrier anticipates a total of 30 new aircraft to join the 1,500-strong fleet family between now and 2029. The airline expects to grow its lie-flat and premium economy seating by 50 percent by the end of the decade. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies {"adUnitPath":"71347885/_main_independent/gallery","autoGallery":true,"disableAds":false,"gallery":[{"data":{"title":"american airlines new business class","description":"American Airlines' Flagship Suite debuts on June 5 on a Dreamliner flight from Chicago to Heathrow","caption":"American Airlines' Flagship Suite debuts on June 5 on a Dreamliner flight from Chicago to Heathrow American Airlines' Flagship Suite debuts on June 5 on a Dreamliner flight from Chicago to Heathrow BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia reached Heathrow Airport on Monday to return home aboard a special air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar nearly four months after receiving advanced treatment in London “The BNP chief left the home of her elder son and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman around 2:00pm (GMT) and reached the airport in nearly 40 minutes,” said her personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain He said Tarique personally drove his mother to Heathrow Airport and will see her off there Khaleda sat in the rear seat beside Tarique while Zubaida Rahman and her daughter were in the back seats of the car on their way to the airport Several hundred leaders and activists of the BNP’s UK Chapter gathered near the airport to see Khaleda off As the party leaders and workers shouted slogans upon seeing Khaleda’s vehicle said the BNP chief will depart from London’s Heathrow Airport at 4:10pm (9:10pm BST) in the air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar He said the flight is scheduled to reach Hamad International Airport Khaleda Zia’s two daughters-in-law—her eldest son Tarique Rahman’s wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and her late son Arafat Rahman Koko’s wife Syeda Shamila Rahman—will accompany the BNP chief “She is expected to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 10am Tuesday We hope that she will reach Dhaka on time,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told UNB He urged party leaders and activists to remain alert and not cause any traffic jam during their way of giving the BNP chief a reception upon her return home as there is an SSC exam scheduled for Tuesday The BNP Secretary General has also urged law enforcers and party leaders and workers to ensure that no public inconvenience arises during the reception of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia travelled to London on January 8 in the same special air ambulance sent by the Emir of Qatar where she remained under the care of renowned specialists Professor Patrick Kennedy and Professor Jennifer Cross for 17 days she has been receiving treatment at the residence of her elder son she has since been under the supervision of specialists Prof Patrick Kennedy and Prof Jennifer Cross at Tarique Rahman’s residence the BNP has completed all preparations to give the BNP Chief a massive reception on her way back to her Gulshan residence from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Since the BNP chief will be travelling from Dhaka Airport to her residence in Gulshan via the Kakoli route Fakhrul urged everyone not to stand on the road in any way “Those who wish to welcome Madam should stand on the footpath and greet her from there We have instructed that party leaders and activists may hold national and BNP flags while receiving her.” He also urged the general public to use the elevated expressway from the airport to Kakoli on the day of Khaleda’s return to avoid traffic congestion Dr Zubaida and their daughter Zaima Rahman have been living in London since 2008 Dr Zubaida Rahman is also returning home with her mother-in-law with a plan to stay at her father’s Dhanmondi residence additional arrangements have been made so that Zubaida can stay there with comfort and security BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia started her journey to Heathrow Airport to fly to Dhaka today (Monday) aboard a special air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar as all necessary preparations for her return home have already been completed “The BNP chief left the home of her elder son and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman around 12:50pm (GMT),” said her personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain He said Tarique is personally driving his mother to Heathrow Airport and will see her off there said the BNP chief will depart from London’s Heathrow Airport at 4:10pm (London time and 10:10 BD time) in the air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar Khaleda Zia ready to fly back to Dhaka on ‘wings of emotion’ Traffic disruption likely in Dhaka Tuesday over Khaleda’s return A plane takes off as Heathrow Airport slowly resumes flights after a fire cut power to Europe’s busiest airport in London This image taken from video shows firefighters working to secure the area of a fire at the North Hyde electrical substation which caught fire Thursday night and lead to a closure of Heathrow Airport in London Smoke still rises as firefighters inspect the site of the fire at the North Hyde electrical substation which caught fire Thursday night and lead to the closure of Heathrow Airport in London No travellers are seen inside Terminal 4 as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power disrupting flights for hundreds of thousands of passengers at one of Europe’s biggest travel hubs in London Omar Sheikh from Pakistan checks his phone whilst standing beside his lugage at Terminal 4 as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power This image taken from video shows parked planes at Heathrow airport as a fire at the North Hyde electrical substation on Thursday night has led to a closure of Heathrow Airport in London Planes are parked at the Terminal as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power Passengers on a bus look at a parked plane as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power The airport said it had made space for extra flights but it is expected to take days to get stranded passengers to their destinations and displaced aircraft into the proper locations A fire at an electrical substation in west London about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the airport cut power to Heathrow Airport late on Thursday Residents reported an explosion and a fireball just before midnight The London Fire Brigade said a transformer holding 25,000 liters (5,000 gallons) of cooling oil caught fire It said 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters brought the blaze under control after seven hours but isolated hotspots were still alight 24 hours after the fire started which maintains energy infrastructure in Britain said the blaze damaged equipment at the substation and cut power to 67,000 properties It said power was restored to all of them by Saturday morning The “significant power outage” initially forced Heathrow officials to announce that the airport would be closed until 11:59 p.m but some flights began to resume on Friday evening Officials said there was no suggestion of foul play but the cause is still under investigation The fire brigade said its investigation would focus on the electrical distribution equipment at the substation London’s Metropolitan Police Service said counterterrorism detectives were leading the investigation because of the fire’s impact on critical national infrastructure Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said it was “an unprecedented event.” with any incident like this we will want to understand why it happened and what if any lessons it has for our infrastructure,” he told Sky News The closure disrupted the travel plans of around 200,000 people who were expected to travel through Heathrow on Friday Heathrow advised passengers not to travel to the airport and to contact their airlines to rebook flights the first impact was on dozens of long-haul flights from North America and Asia that were in the air when the airport was shut down while others were diverted to airports around the United Kingdom and Europe Heathrow-bound aircraft landed at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam; Shannon Airport in western Ireland; Glasgow About 4,000 tons of cargo were also stranded by the closure The disruptions are expected to last for days as airlines move stranded aircraft and flight crews back into position and work to accommodate passengers whose flights were canceled Mendiratta estimated that it would take two to four days to clear all the backlogs “This is an extreme situation where the entire aviation ecosystem is impacted,” she said “There will be two things that will be happening as a priority No First is airport operations and understanding And then how do you literally turn the airport back on again?” Heathrow was Europe’s busiest airport last year with 83.6 million passengers traveling through it Its closure will have far-reaching impacts because it’s a major hub for connecting flights to cities throughout the U.K Five other air hubs in southeastern England identify themselves as London airports The fire raises concerns about the U.K.’s ability to withstand attacks or natural disasters that damage critical infrastructure such as communications and power networks “The U.K.’s critical national infrastructure is not sufficiently hardened for anywhere near the level it would need to be at to give us confidence this won’t happen again,” he said if one fire can shut down Heathrow’s primary systems .. it tells you something’s badly wrong with our system of management of such disasters.” an expert on resilience at London-based think tank Chatham House said that successive governments have been slow to respond to repeated recommendations from the National Infrastructure Commission to strengthen the ability of Britain’s power transport and water networks to withstand major shocks “We still have yet to see a kind of clear response from the government to those recommendations,” he said “And we hope that maybe in the government’s upcoming resilience review which we expect will be published at some point this year it might seek to address some of those questions.” Its CEO Thomas Woldbye said “the same would happen in other airports” faced with a similar fire Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Our regular feature, brought to you in association with Duty Free Global from Ireland launches and campaigns related to the global aviation and travel retail sphere Our latest image choices come courtesy of London Heathrow Airport which is relaunching its annual whisky festival under the name Whisky Social Club in partnership with Avolta Running through May across all Heathrow terminals it features whisky-pairings curated by whisky expert and content creator Alwynne Gwilt Travellers can also try whisky-themed dishes and discover products exclusive to the airport travellers have exclusive access to travel retail-only releases available at Heathrow including Fable’s The Lighthouse Participating Heathrow restaurants are presenting whisky-inspired dishes and cocktails across the terminals: Heathrow Retail Director Fraser Brown said: “Our vision for Whisky Social Club was to bring to life the timelessness and character of whisky for passengers travelling through Heathrow This immersive experience showcases the best of British and global whiskies and invites passengers to discover something new whether as a gift or a souvenir of their travels.” Alwynne Gwilt (Miss Whisky) commented: “Whisky can take you on a journey around the world and offer a window into centuries of tradition I’m proud to partner with Avolta and Heathrow to introduce travellers to unique flavour combinations that can only be unlocked through the signature food pairings I’ve curated for Whisky Social Club.” Heathrow Rewards members gain double points at participating restaurants from 1 May along with the chance to enter a Glen Moray prize draw offering two tickets to the 2025 Senior Open Golf Championship at Sunningdale this July Whisky Social Club can also be accessed without travelling, with guides, tasting tips from Miss Whisky and prize competitions at heathrow.com/whisky ✈ Subscribe to our newsletter for critical marketing information delivered to your inbox Our latest images come courtesy of Warsaw Chopin Airport which is inviting guests to experience “an extraordinary journey into the world of Star Wars” until 4 May Today’s images come courtesy of Düsseldorf Airport which is currently sporting an orange theme and playful signage renaming it ‘Luchthaven Düsseldorf’ Today’s selection features the retail debut of Global Drinks Ltd-owned Misaka in Macau both with Avolta at Macau International Airport and King Power at one of the Special Administrative Region’s ferry terminal stores Copyright © The Moodie Davitt Report | Website by Yellowball We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website Please click on one of the buttons below to accept We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Plaza Premium Group (PPG) has opened a new airline lounge for Saudia Airlines at London Heathrow marking the first collaboration between the two companies which serves First and Business Class passengers in partnership with The London Tea Exchange The Saudia Lounge is Plaza Premium Group’s seventh lounge in London and reflects the company’s expansion and commitment to enhancing passenger services at major airports The lounge aims to improve the pre-flight experience for Saudia Airlines guests with tailored offerings and luxury service PPG said: “London remains one of the world’s most important aviation hubs and our continued expansion here underscores our dedication to enhancing the travel experience for every guest The launch of the Saudia Airlines Lounge allows guests to immerse themselves in the city’s rich heritage and culture through thoughtfully curated in-lounge experiences further reflecting our commitment to delivering world-class locally inspired hospitality at every touchpoint.” Saudia added: “The launch of our new lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 4 is a testament to Saudia’s dedication to providing an exceptional travel experience that embodies the essence of Saudi hospitality We are proud to offer our guests a premium space that combines comfort setting a new benchmark for international travel.” Seafront stays and heritage charm at Penang Marriott Hotel Is Your Business Listed On TTGmice Planner Online Economy Class & Beyond 05/05/2025 by Leave a Comment It’s a Monday again (at the time of publication) so it must be time for some more Airplane Art If you’re a regular reader of Economy Class and Beyond, you’ll know that we have a weekly feature called “Airplane Art” where I debut some of my photography of aircraft I tend to rotate photos in this section a lot through the blog but it’s time for a “Special” from one of my favourite spotting locations – at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare It’s right on the Approach/Departure paths for Chicago O’Hare It’s important to ensure you get a room in the main hotel block where there are balconies (these are typically double-queen rooms) and certainly not in the international block an extra layer of glass between you and your desired photo It does make a big difference in your ability to take photos or watch aircraft A lot of your traffic will be dependent on what Air Traffic Control decides to send via the approach paths which will convert a landing runway into a departure runway One of the most important tools you can have is FlightRadar24 (and considering how much the Silver membership a year is at £12.99 upwards I’d pay up – even if to avoid the adverts that are in the free version I’ve gone with my default shooting equipment – a Canon EOS R with an RF to EF adaptor – with a classic EF 100-400mm f5.6-f6.3 L Series Zoom lens with the lens having seen better days (and I’m still eyeing the new RF lenses from afar) There are also some from the Canon EF70-300 DO IS Series f4.5-f5.6 lens I thought I had two sessions of photos at this hotel but after going through the archive and the SD card One set of photos from a rather cloudy and wet O’Hare on a Sunday Whilst there are other places to spot aircraft at Chicago O’Hare they’re either too near secure areas or need a little creativity to get the right spot a seat or a toilet next to them that you can quickly access you can be rewarded with some good airplane watching and spotting facilities And keep your fingers crossed that the winds are in your favour as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon and Instagram Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world Filed Under: ORD Spring 2025, Trip, Trip Reports, Trips and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed Sign up to receive email updates daily and to hear what's going on with us Privacy PolicyCopyright © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Economy Class & Beyond All Rights Reserved.Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited provided that full and clear credit is given to Economy Class & Beyond with appropriate and specific directions to the original content Industry and Leisure Business EditorSaturday May 03 2025 The Sunday TimesVirgin Atlantic and British Airways owner IAG are pushing to seize greater control of Heathrow airport ahead of the building of the third runway The two airlines have set aside a long-running rivalry to demand once-in-a-generation regulatory reform that could give them a vote on major spending at the airport and allow third parties to operate its terminal buildings Virgin Atlantic owner Sir Richard Branson is interested in running a terminal as part of an independent consortium British Airways flights lined at London Heathrow British Airways could bid to run its own terminal if allowedMAUREEN MCLEAN/ALAMYLuis Gallego said the FTSE 100 group was also “open to every possible alternative to stimulate the competition” in the future — but stopped short of registering similar interest at this time and Sydney airports are leading the way in the global aviation sector’s shift toward predictive operations and data-driven decision-making by investing in AI-powered asset management and digital twin technologies This transformation is reshaping everything from maintenance to passenger flow Air traffic has rebounded and is forecast to grow significantly putting airports under pressure to enhance operational resilience Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a central role in this transformation “Airports can’t afford to wait for things to go wrong,” says Greg Hoile, Director of Asset Performance Services (Americas) at Bentley “AI allows us to build a behavioural model of the airport–so leaders can simulate scenarios plan for them and then respond instantly.” At London Heathrow AI and digital transformation are being embedded into the core of infrastructure delivery The airport has begun a coordinated programme to improve the quality and accessibility of asset data across teams–ensuring that capital projects don’t just deliver physical assets but also the digital information needed for long-term operational efficiency A key focus has been improving the way information is transferred and used during the handover process between project delivery and operations Heathrow is putting mechanisms in place to ensure it is accurate The airport is working to embed a data-first mindset across its organisation–from executive leadership to engineering teams–ensuring everyone understands how accurate asset data underpins performance The approach prioritises incremental wins and alignment with broader strategic goals recognising that sustainable transformation depends on cross-functional buy-in and long-term governance Predictive maintenance as passenger experience strategy Greg Hoile underscores that predictive maintenance isn’t just about keeping systems running–it’s about delivering on passenger expectations It can impact a person’s ability to reach their gate on time,” he explains Bentley’s solutions support the creation of AI-driven scenario libraries These enable airport teams to pre-plan responses to common disruptions–like unplanned outages or weather events–allowing them to act quickly and consistently when incidents occur “We can create mitigation plans in advance that gives us different alternatives,” he says “The ones that meet those criteria can then be put into place very quickly.” In parallel to its internal changes, Heathrow is also deploying Bentley’s DataConnect integration platform allowing it to break down silos and apply logic to previously unstructured information this system identifies how assets interact with operations and user behaviour–unlocking more informed decision-making Other airports are moving in similar directions. Toronto Pearson is using AI and digital tools to model how its terminals will handle a near-doubling in passenger volume–from 50 million to 100 million over the next five years The project is focused on scaling everything from security checkpoints to baggage handling infrastructure–while keeping flow a digital twin programme is already underway “Digital twins are more than virtual models,” Greg Hoile explains “They’re management platforms that link real-time performance and future planning–all from a single source of truth.” Despite the futuristic edge of AI and digital twin technology many benefits are rooted in fundamental improvements “Airports often stock large quantities of spare parts that sit idle for years creating immediate financial and logistics benefits,” Greg Hoile notes Bentley clients have seen inventory costs drop by more than 80 percent Bentley’s scenario modelling tools also provide a way for airport leaders to prepare–not just respond–to disruptions Greg Hoile notes that “An airport operations executive and their management staff will need to know which gates to close including how to react either proactively or with the minimum of delay to deliver the optimal customer experience This will enable customers to keep coming back.” Heathrow’s wider digital strategy supports this resilience planning and data tools into a coordinated programme the airport is working toward a future where decisions can be made faster Bentley’s platforms are built with interoperability and security in mind–designed to work across open standards and integrate with third-party systems From encryption and authentication protocols to secure data exchanges with external vendors “We design them to adapt quickly–because standards and expectations will change,” Greg Hoile says AI isn’t just a tool for maintenance–it’s a strategic asset that supports everything from capacity growth to crisis management Heathrow’s digital pivot shows what’s possible when data governance “AI is helping airports see around corners,” he concludes “That’s not just an operations advantage–it’s a strategic one.” Main image: Valentin M Armianu | Dreamstime.com You have reached the limit for the basic subscription. Please upgrade to Premium to download more You have reached the limit for the basic subscription. Please upgrade to Premium to save more 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Collins Aerospace announced a six-year renewal agreement with Heathrow Airline Operators' Committee (AOC) to continue offering its ARINC cMUSE (multi-user system environment) solution to all four London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) passenger terminals – ensuring streamlined airport operations flexible passenger processing and quicker passenger check-ins for an improved travel experience cMUSE is Collins' next-generation common-use passenger processing system (CUPPS) providing more than 80 airlines at LHR simplified access to shared resources rather than having to rely on dedicated infrastructure Check-in desks and boarding gates are dynamically allocated based on real-time demand seamlessly maximizing space and operational costs Collins and Heathrow AOC have provided global customers with scalable secure solutions to effectively manage passenger traffic," said Nicole White vice president and general manager of Connected Aviation at Collins Aerospace "We remain committed to delivering the same reliability and dedicated on-site support they have come to expect while exploring new ways to enhance the passenger journey together."   Collins first deployed its MUSE solution at LHR in 1999 and has scaled in capability to meet the growing operational demands of one of the world's busiest airports by passenger traffic which handled a record 83.9 million passengers in 2024 Heathrow is making investments to transform our current infrastructure to serve more passengers than ever before and it is vital that we leverage the most innovative technologies to keep our operations running smoothly," said Nigel Wicking "We trust the Collins ARINC cMUSE solution will continue to help us optimize resources and offer quick and easy passenger processing tools that ultimately enable our airline customers to provide the best customer service possible." Heathrow is the largest of Collins' CUPPS sites globally featuring more than 1,500 common-use workstations Collins and Heathrow AOC will also explore and trial new solutions to support LHR's investment in future growth such as cloud technology and mobile solutions and interoperable with all common-use terminal equipment and CUPPS ARINC cMUSE is designed to adapt to different technology road maps Users can quickly scale up – or down – and add workstations as needed while ARINC Managed Services can help reduce support costs while optimizing resources tools and technologies and 24/7 global support keep IT users up and running Heathrow AOC was formed in 2009 to represent and promote the interests of over 90 airlines ground handlers and others operating at Heathrow The organisation works in accordance with the scope and remit which has been defined by its members capital and regulatory matters and challenges found in the complicated and regulated environment that is Heathrow The AOC also supports members in the contracting and provision of key common use services check in / gate technology and baggage reconciliation is a leader in integrated and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry Our 80,000 employees are dedicated to delivering future-focused technologies to advance sustainable and connected aviation RTX is the world's largest aerospace and defense company we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation engineering integrated defense systems for operational success and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges with 2024 sales of more than $80 billion For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact [email protected] 2025 (BSS) - BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia has arrived at Heathrow International Airport after leaving her son’s home in London to return to Bangladesh Her son and party’s acting chief Tarique Rahman drove her to the airport at 2:10 pm local time her personal physician Prof AZM Zahid Hossain said Khaleda’s two daughters-in-law Zubaida Rahman and Syeda Shamila Rahman were also in the car He said Begum Zia will leave London on a special aircraft provided by Qatar’s Emir at 4:10 am local time BNP leaders and activists from various European countries and various cities in the United States have been gathering in London since Monday morning to bid farewell to Begum Khaleda Zia They came despite knowing that they would not meet her at Heathrow Airport due to security issues Even though Monday was a bank holiday or a government holiday and there was inclement weather they continued to gather to bid farewell to Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia is returning home after receiving treatment in London for the past four months as she went there on January 7 Managing Director and Chief Editor : Mahbub Morshed Saudia has just opened a lounge at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) one of its only lounges outside of Saudi Arabia assuming you’re not looking for a drink SkyTeam member Saudia has just opened a lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 4 In line with SkyTeam lounge access policies, the 140-seat lounge is open to SkyTeam first and business class passengers, as well as SkyTeam Elite Plus members but is obviously primarily targeted at Saudia passengers for the carrier’s up to six daily flights to the airport (three to Jeddah also depart from Heathrow Terminal 4.Saudia Lounge London Heathrow AirportHere’s how the airline describes the design and amenities of the lounge: The lounge features a range of luxurious offerings showcasing the warmth of Saudi hospitality including traditional Saudi coffee and dates from the Kingdom A premium dining experience is available through an international buffet with a private VIP area offering à la carte dining and personalized butler service Additional features include a bespoke London Tea Exchange experience luxury showers with Urban Apothecary amenities Guests can also enjoy fully equipped workspaces along with high-speed Wi-Fi and charging stations — ensuring comfort and connectivity throughout their stay The lounge’s design incorporates refined accessories Enhanced lighting installations add warmth and a luxurious feel to the space.As you can see the lounge has a “London Tea Exchange experience,” but doesn’t have alcohol in line with what you’d expect from Saudia Here’s what Saudia Chief Guest Experience Officer Rossen Dimitrov had to say: “The launch of our new lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 4 is a testament to Saudia’s dedication to providing an exceptional travel experience that embodies the essence of Saudi hospitality setting a new benchmark for international travel.” the new Saudia Lounge Heathrow is located in the space of the former SkyTeam Lounge Heathrow That lounge closed in 2020 due to the pandemic Plaza Premium ended up taking over the space but when Plaza Premium took over the lounge The company stated that something would be coming to the second level as the Saudia Lounge is located on top of the Plaza Premium Lounge in the space of the second floor of the former SkyTeam Lounge.Bottom lineSaudia has opened a lounge at London Heathrow Airport one of its few lounges outside of Saudi Arabia It’s always nice to see more lounge options though admittedly isn’t ideal for those looking to imbibe If you’re flying SkyTeam out of Terminal 4 and have lounge access Just visited today and was denied entry (politely redirected to plaza premium) was told in no circumstances is this open to SkyTeam Elite+ travelling in economy on Saudia (unless Al-Fursan) So it's basically a purely Saudia Lounge - only access is for their own Gold frequent flyers or those in first or business My wife likes to drive and not have her head covered We both support human rights - so this lounge and airline is a hard no from us Except the country from where this airline is based does allow women to drive and walk in the streets without having to cover their head… Hey - happy to list out all the human rights abuses this country is responsible for but it ain't cool there and those that supported the drive ban removal were thrown in jail the UK and other Western countries complicit in human rights abuses in Palestine too seeing as you are so conscious about human rights abuses We are not going to indulge your antisemitic rant I was just pointing out the sheer hypocrisy in your comment that Western countries are also complicit in human rights abuses across the world They indeed recently updated some (but by no means all) of their middle-age traditions A lot of Saudi women drive and there’s no need to cover But let me guess: you had no issue typing your comment in a device manufactured in China by laborers in camps that have to work 80 hours a week under full control and questionable circumstances But let’s do better than claiming cliches that are not true I'm very glad I spent the extra 60 GBP to upgrade to Business on Air France for the short flight to CDG there was a wait for the Plaza Premium Lounge for Priority Pass and AMEX cardholders (people were told to scan a barcode and join a queue and were told an estimate wait of an hour or more) the Saudia lounge staff said it is out of bounds for other Skyteam airlines and that it is only for Saudia passengers :/ With like 6-7 flights per day between LHR and CDG it's odd that Air France doesn't have its own lounge in Terminal 4 The best-kept secret may be the Gulf Air lounge Apparently there was a plan however assume SkyTeam elites can use the Saudia lounge now I think the cost of having its own lounge is too high and whilst AF is investing more in the premium brand KLM isn’t Air France has lounges at out-stations with far fewer flights Sadly Air France elites only have access to the Plaza Premium Lounge at LHR I would say it’s equally odd that BA doesn’t have its own lounge in CDG I liked to indulge in drink from time to time but honestly when travelling I would be happy to go to an elegant lounge that serves nice non-alocoholic drinks That's very nice for you and we did note you're now politically correct There are many elegant lounges which serve nice non-alcoholic drinks The new thing here is that it's (to my knowledge) the first dry lounge in the UK Are there also public beheadings so we get the full Saudi experience Rather have good coffee/tea before a flight It'd be so much easier if we forced everyone to live by addicts' standards Just because normal people can control themselves and live in moderation doesn't mean they can be allowed to Nobody wants to move where Europeans and European culture prevails we must be more like the diverse people with the same hair color and eye color if you are not trolling then you need help don't take it out on people on the internet The lounge staff downstairs were telling people about it months ago Your feedback is important in helping us keep our community safe The comments on this page have not been provided approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered You have successfully joined our subscriber list Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. See more about our ethics policies here LONDON — London Heathrow Airport said it was "fully operational" on Saturday after an almost daylong closure sparked by an electrical substation fire But airlines warned that severe disruption will last for days as they scramble to relocate planes and crews and get travelers to their destinations The airport's boss said he was proud of Heathrow's response to the incident angry airlines and concerned politicians sought answers about how one seemingly accidental fire could shut down Europe's busiest air hub "We have hundreds of additional colleagues on hand in our terminals and we have added flights to today's schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers traveling through the airport," Heathrow said in a statement advising passengers to check with their airline before going to the airport said it expects to operate about 85% of its 600 scheduled flights at the airport on Saturday It said that "to recover an operation of our size after such a significant incident is extremely complex." More than 1,300 flights were canceled and some 200,000 people stranded Friday after an overnight fire at a substation 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away from the airport cut power to Heathrow Residents in west London described hearing a large explosion and then seeing a fireball and clouds of smoke when the blaze ripped through the substation The fire was brought under control after seven hours A handful of flights took off and landed late Friday Police said they do not consider the fire suspicious and the London Fire Brigade said its investigation would focus on the electrical distribution equipment at the substation the huge impact of the fire left authorities facing criticism that Britain's creaking infrastructure is ill-prepared to deal with disasters or attacks The British government acknowledged that authorities had questions to answer and said a rigorous investigation was needed to make sure "this scale of disruption does not happen again." Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said he was "proud" of the way airport and airline staff had responded the situation was not created at Heathrow Airport," he told the BBC but it wasn't enough to run the whole airport "That's how most airports operate," said Woldbye who insisted "the same would happen in other airports" faced with a similar blaze Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports for international travel Passengers on about 120 flights were in the air when the closure was announced found themselves landing in different cities Friday's disruption was one of the most serious since the 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and shut Europe's airspace for days Mark Doherty and his wife were halfway across the Atlantic when the inflight map showed their flight from New York's John F Kennedy Airport to Heathrow was turning around you're joking," Doherty said before the pilot told passengers they were heading back to New York Doherty called the situation "typical England — got no back-up plan for something happens like this Become an NPR sponsor You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience REDEFINING THE END-TO-END PASSENGER EXPERIENCE AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE On the Ground | Sustainability // May 2025 Share on LinkedInLinkedInShare on TwitterTwitterShare on FacebookFacebookShare on RedditRedditShare on FlipboardFlipboardShare on TumblrTumblrShare via EmailGmailShare on WhatsAppWhatsApp Heathrow – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – has unveiled a new Nature Traffic Control Tower a birdwatching hideaway right in the heart of one of its 13 local nature conservation sites designed to resemble the airport’s iconic control tower is free to visit as part of a bookable tour of the area allowing visitors to watch a huge range of bird species ‘coming in to land’ The tower has been created to raise awareness of Heathrow’s Nature Positive Plan detailing how the airport will better understand and Heathrow’s commitment to building on its ongoing efforts to protect and actively restore local biodiversity and ecosystems forms part of the airport’s wider Connecting People and Planet sustainability strategy which includes a £250 million investment from the airport into carbon and sustainability improvements for the 2022-2026 period “Our work to support nature happens all year round – from introducing cattle to graze habitats in spring to discovering new-to-science fungi in our woodlands in autumn and rotational hedgerow management in winter,” said Becky Coffin “Maintaining and restoring nature is a priority for Heathrow and we hope this birdwatching experience helps bring our Nature Positive Plan to life and shows travellers that Heathrow is committed to biodiversity giving them greater confidence in their travel choices.” Heathrow manages 170 hectares of land across the 13 biodiversity sites surrounding the airport – equating to 10% of Heathrow’s overall footprint The Nature Traffic Control Tower has popped up in local site where visitors can book a free birdwatching session and guided nature tour with one of Heathrow’s expert ecologists The tour around the biodiversity site will take nature enthusiasts through diverse habitats grasslands and woodlands – offering the chance to spot rare flowers In addition to 79 species of bird soaring in the skies visitors may encounter Britain’s rarest native tree as well as the Small Heath butterfly and grass snakes The surrounding meadows and farmland across Heathrow’s biodiversity sites also host rare spiders and beetles sweet violets and a wide range of other wildlife Hear more from Heathrow at the FTE World Innovation Summit hosted by Pittsburgh International Airport on 13-15 May 2025 is participating in a ‘Future Airports’ conference session focused on ‘Outstanding innovation approaches from airports around the world to take inspiration from’ 12 technology and CX trends that can enhance airline and airport operations in 2025 FTE World Innovation Summit showcase, sponsor, tours and innovation pitches preview – pioneering solutions to enhance customer experiences and operational efficiency Energy & sustainability: PIT, Connect Airlines, YEG and Carnegie Mellon University discuss best approaches to SAF, electric, low carbon energy, hydrogen and more Robotics revolution: Schiphol, Boston Dynamics, Southwest and Fraport discuss how they are stretching the boundaries of innovation with robotics and automation Heathrow accelerates Sustainable Aviation Fuel adoption as part of pioneering carbon cutting scheme Lufthansa Group uses innovative AI-supported ‘Tray Tracker’ to reduce food waste IOT & Robotics case studies & knowledge sharing Content plans: Focus on the future of baggage handling Proof of Concepts updates & knowledge sharing Content plans: A worldwide summit uniting inventive minds to tackle aviation’s biggest challenges and uncover the city’s vibrant tech and innovation landscape Content plans: Strategies for revenue growth through collaborative retailing; discussions around progressive new business models & knowledge sharing Content plans: A gathering of air transport’s digital and innovation leaders who will inspire one another and reimagine travel together Content plans: Known as the ‘CES of Aviation’ FTE Global is THE DEFINITIVE EVENT FOR INNOVATORS Content plans: Asia’s biggest free to attend passenger experience & business performance expo Singapore Airlines – a Headline Partner of FTE APEX Asia Expo 19-20 November 2024 – is investing S$1.1 billion to install its all-new long-haul cabin products across 41 Airbus A350-900s Cabin Design & Interiors, Up in the Air // Nov 2024 The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced the opening of a second sensory room at Newark Liberty Airport’s Terminal A providing an inclusive experience for neurodivergent travellers On the Ground // Mar 2025 United Airlines has signed the industry’s largest agreement of its kind with SpaceX to provide Starlink connectivity onboard for free Connectivity, Up in the Air // Sep 2024 A worldwide summit uniting inventive minds to tackle aviation’s biggest challenges Empowering the airline sector to profit from collaborative digital retailing opportunities at every step of the journey A gathering of air transport’s digital and innovation leaders creative designers and progressive minds who will inspire one another and reimagine travel together Where the world's most progressive travel facilitators define tomorrow’s end-to-end passenger experience Connecting vendors with airline and airport executives to transform tomorrow’s end-to-end passenger journey across Asia-Pacific 04/05/2025 by Leave a Comment promoting Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney Parks While LATAM Brasil doesn’t have any Stormtroopers in its personnel ranks it operates 10 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in its widebody fleet The airline also operates the Boeing 787-9 with further Boeing 787-8 and Boeing 787-9 operated by LATAM Chile This aircraft, PT-MUA, initially joined TAM ( TAM Linhas Aéreas) in August 2008. It moved into the LATAM Brasil fleet in May 2016 as part of the merger between LAN Airlines Chile, making LATAM Airlines.  The aircraft is operational, with flights operating out of its São Paulo base to Miami London Heathrow and Madrid at the time of writing For those looking out for this aircraft, it was reported that it was painted back into LATAM house colours in early 2024 More Airplane Art next week… or maybe later … Filed Under: Airport to City A fire at an electrical substation knocked out power to the airport for most of Friday forcing Europe’s busiest hub to shut down for roughly 18 hours causing widespread cancellations and rerouting headaches airlines warned that severe disruption will last for days as they scramble to relocate planes and crews and get travelers to their destinations Travellers check the information board in London as Heathrow Airport slowly resumes flights after a fire cut power to Europe’s busiest airport.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) People watch an Emirates plane at Heathrow Airport in London on Saturday March 22 after flights resumed at the west London airport on Friday evening Officials walk through the North Hyde electrical substation in London on Saturday March 22 A man takes a photo of the flight information display in the arrivals hall at Heathrow Terminal 5 in London Passengers in the arrivals hall at Heathrow Terminal 5 in London Travellers wait outside the Terminal as Heathrow Airport slowly resumes flights after a fire cut power to Europe’s busiest airport in London Travellers arrives at Terminal 5 as Heathrow Airport slowly resumes flights after a fire cut power to Europe’s busiest airport in London Travellers arrive at Terminal 5 as Heathrow Airport slowly resumes flights after a fire cut power to Europe’s busiest airport in London Travellers wait at Terminal 5 as Heathrow Airport slowly resumes flights after a fire cut power to Europe’s busiest airport in London A plane is prepared whilst another airplane approaches landing at Heathrow Airport after a fire at an electrical substation shuttered Europe’s busiest air travel hub in London A handwritten sign at a Heathrow Airport tube station in London indicates the airport is closed on Friday March 21 following a fire at the North Hyde electrical substation the previous night.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) In this photo taken from video provided by Matthew Muirhead a fire is seen at the North Hyde electrical substation near the Heathrow Airport in London Workers are seen as smoke rises from the North Hyde electrical substation leading to the closure of the Heathrow Airport Travellers arrive at Terminal 2 as Heathrow Airport slowly resumes flights after a fire cut power to Europe’s busiest airport in London While Heathrow Airport said it was now “fully operational,” thousands of passengers remained stuck and airlines warned that severe disruption will last for days as they scramble to relocate planes and crews and get travelers to their destinations “This is a huge embarrassment for Heathrow airport It’s a huge embarrassment for the country that a fire in one electricity substation can have such a devastating effect,” said Toby Harris a Labour Party politician who heads the National Preparedness Commission a group that campaigns to improve resilience Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said he’d asked the National Energy System Operator “to understand any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure.” It is expected to report initial findings within six weeks “The government is determined to do everything it can to prevent a repeat of what happened at Heathrow,” Miliband said to be led by former transport secretary Ruth Kelly Heathrow Chairman Paul Deighton said Kelly will look at “the robustness and execution of Heathrow’s crisis management plans the airport’s response during the incident and how the airport recovered.” More than 1,300 flights were canceled and some 200,000 people stranded Friday after an overnight fire at a substation 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away cut power to Heathrow Heathrow said Saturday it had “added flights to today’s schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers.” British Airways said it expected to operate about 85% of its 600 scheduled flights at the airport Saturday While many passengers managed to resume stalled journeys Laura Fritschie from Kansas City was on vacation with her family in Ireland when she learned that her father had died On Saturday she was stranded at Heathrow after her BA flight to Chicago was canceled at the last minute “This was my first big vacation with my kids since my husband died but the airport was shut for almost 18 hours and the London Fire Brigade said its investigation would focus on the substation’s electrical distribution equipment 50 years we’ve tried to make services more efficient,” said Harris We’ve moved towards a sort of ‘just in time’ economy There is an element where you have to make sure you’re available for ‘just in case.’ You have to plan for things going wrong.” Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said he was “proud” of the way airport and airline staff had responded Woldbye said Heathrow’s backup power supply but it wasn’t enough to run the whole airport “That’s how most airports operate,” said Woldbye who insisted “the same would happen in other airports” faced with a similar blaze who heads aviation trade organization IATA said the episode “begs some serious questions.” “How is it that critical infrastructure – of national and global importance – is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative then it is a clear planning failure by the airport,” he said Walsh said “Heathrow has very little incentive to improve” because airlines have to pay the cost of looking after disrupted passengers Passengers on about 120 flights were in the air when Friday’s closure was announced and found themselves landing in different cities Mark Doherty and his wife were halfway across the Atlantic when the inflight map showed their flight from New York’s John F Kennedy Airport to Heathrow was returning to New York He called the situation “typical England — got no back-up plan for something happens like this Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha at Heathrow Airport contributed to this report whose trip to London was canceled due to Heathrow travel chaos shares his experience after his flight that was set to take off from Brazil’s São Paulo to London Heathrow was canceled The airport is completely shut down because of a power outage due to a large fire nearby causing massive disruption to flight paths globally '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" LONDON — Europe's busiest airport announced it will reopen for a small number of flights late Friday after an overnight power shutdown forced dozens of flights to divert in midair and disrupted travel for passengers worldwide In a message on social media Heathrow airport said it was "now safely able to restart flights prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft." The statement instructed passengers not to travel to the airport unless specifically told to do so by their airline The London Fire Brigade said it had received more than 200 calls from concerned residents about a vast conflagration that began late Thursday at a high-voltage substation close to the airport where a transformer that contained 25,000 liters — about 6,600 gallons — of cooling oil was fully alight The fire knocked out power to 16,000 homes as well as Heathrow just hours before the airport was due to open at 6 a.m More than 1,000 flights were diverted or canceled over the course of the day delaying hundreds of thousands of passengers with some returned to their points of origin or routed via third countries London's Metropolitan police have said there's no indication of foul play so far but its counterterrorism command is involved in an investigation into the fire's origins Several fire engines and dozens of firefighters battled the blaze in the nearby town of Hayes while an airport spokesperson warned passengers to avoid any transit to Heathrow Video uploaded to social media sites showed a vast conflagration at the substation facility with the London Fire Brigade saying residents were concerned about the significant amount of smoke emanating from the site More than 100 people were evacuated from their homes since the first emergency calls were made late Thursday More than 100 flights en route to Heathrow have been diverted according to data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24 with United landing one flight from New York in Shannon and Australian carrier Qantas diverting two planes to Paris United said seven of its scheduled flights had returned to their airports of origin, the Associated Press reported showed both Delta and American had canceled flights from New York's John F Dozens of international airlines will be forced to reconfigure their flight networks crew and pilots in other locations to avoid further cancellations in the coming days "We expect significant disruption over the coming days," said a Heathrow spokesperson in a public statement early Friday adding that "passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens." In its announcement later that some flights were resuming the airport said its teams "worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery." Heathrow typically hosts around 200,000 passengers a day with transatlantic travel to the United States responsible for a sizeable portion of those passenger numbers The British government recently approved plans to build a third runway at Heathrow to help boost economic growth while more than 16,000 homes in the surrounding area have also lost power according to local provider Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks a problem with the U.K.'s air traffic control system caused similar delays at several U.K forcing landings and takeoffs to be spread out on what was then one of the busiest travel days that year and we are open and fully operational," Heathrow Airport said on X "Teams across the airport continue to do everything they can to support passengers impacted by yesterdays outage at an off-airport power substation." A Heathrow spokesperson said that hundreds of additional colleagues are on hand in their terminals on Saturday and that the airport has added flights to Saturday's schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport "Power supplies have been restored to all customers connected to our North Hyde substation allowing operations to resume at the airport We are now implementing measures to help further improve the resilience levels of our network," read a statement from the U.K.s National Grid concerning the fire at North Hyde Substation which caused the closure of Heathrow on Friday "We are deeply sorry for the disruption caused and are continuing to work closely with the government Heathrow and the police to understand the cause of the incident," the statement continued An analysis said as many as 290,000 passengers were expected to be impacted by the closure Friday There were 669 flights scheduled to depart to Heathrow on Friday The fire could affect another 270,000 passengers on Saturday The cause of the fire is still not known and currently under investigation but authorities have confirmed that they are not treating the blaze as suspicious we are not treating this incident as suspicious although enquiries do remain ongoing," a statement from London's Metropolitan Police said Because of the location of the substation "and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure," the Met's Counter Terrorism Command was leading the investigation ABC News' Morgan Winsor and Mike Trew contributed to the report Geneva - “Today’s closing of Heathrow will inconvenience a huge number of travelers We thank those affected for their patience as airlines focus on getting them to their destination as quickly and efficiently as possible This is yet another case of Heathrow letting down both travelers and airlines how is it that critical infrastructure—of national and global importance—is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative If that is the case—as it seems—then it is a clear planning failure by the airport from that arises the question of who bears the costs of taking care of disrupted travelers We must find a fairer allocation of passenger care costs than airlines alone picking up the tab when infrastructure fails Heathrow has very little incentive to improve,” said Willie Walsh Email: corpcomms@iata.org     www.airlines.iata.org We use cookies to give you the best experience on our website. We also use cookies for advertising purposes. Please see our privacy policy and cookies policy for complete information Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information By Akshat Rathi The British International Freight Association has launched a cargo community advisory body which will undertake a lot of the activity previously covered by the CCSUK User Group The first important task of the advisory body is to focus on the impact of the planned massive redevelopment of the cargo village at Heathrow Airport and the associated freight management systems says: “Whilst we wait for the promised third runway BIFA is focusing on the airport’s cargo development BIFA is already working closely with the airport to support its ambitious plans to deliver a fundamental change to the way cargo operates at the airport “Our intention with the establishment of an advisory body is to allow BIFA members and other stakeholders to work with the airport authority to have a central role and be at the forefront of discussions in what needs to be addressed.” the new advisory body will focus on the modernisation of freight systems which facilitate the sharing of information amongst the key stakeholders The group will also work with Heathrow Airport to represent the freight forwarding community and other stakeholders in discussions around the development of the Heathrow cargo centre widely known as the ‘Horseshoe’ Parker adds: “The plans unveiled last October will mean a significant redevelopment of the cargo estate which is set to commence in the next two to three years as the airport looks to accommodate rising demand modernise some ageing first-line cargo handling facilities who has had a long career with DHL Global Forwarding most recently as a senior management team member and VP Value Added Services Cooke brings many years of knowledge and experience that will be invaluable in driving forward the work of the new advisory body The advisory body was officially launched at an event organised by BIFA that took place at the BT Tower in London on April 29 This event outlined the structure of the advisory body going forward and also allowed attendees to voice their opinions along with providing input on how the operational challenges that will come with the cargo village redevelopment can be addressed Parker emphasised the significance of this new advisory body and encouraged members that were present to inspire other members to engage and attend future meetings He concluded: “BIFA is already a member of a strategic governance board set up by the airport authority which had its first meeting earlier this year “We want to be the conduit through which BIFA members can be at the heart of what is being developed for cargo at Heathrow BIFA members and other stakeholders will be able to help shape best practice as the redevelopment of the cargo area begins; and develop methods via which the group can represent members’ interests on this subject in conjunction with the airport authority.” Top News,Greece Greece has approved an international tender for hydrocarbon exploration in four blocks in the Mediterranean Sea Top News,World Top News,Energy World,Word newsletter The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) participated in the 2025 edition of Sea Asia one of the premier maritime industry events in the Asia-Pacific… Leading mental health support provider MHSS is proud to confirm its commitment to diversity and inclusion with the appointment of two psychologists… Design & Development by P.KAN.DESIGNER Design & Development by P.KAN.DESIGNER Blog  >  Inside Flightradar24  >  Can you help us boost flight tracking at London Heathrow Airport Do you live or work near London’s busiest airport? We’re looking to boost flight tracking coverage around London Heathrow Airport (LHR) If you live or work within 1 mile (2 kilometers) of the airport you help power flight tracking by hosting a Flightradar24 ADS-B receiver We are especially interested in hearing from individuals located to the south and Southeast of the Airport As well as improving local tracking for millions of users on the world’s favorite flight tracking app you will also get a complimentary Business Subscription to Flightradar24 so join more than 1.7 million others who receive weekly aviation industry and flight tracking news from Flightradar24 direct to their inbox We’re always looking for additional receiver hosts in areas that either lack coverage or need additional coverage Help us grow the Flightradar24 ADS-B network See all subscription plans Explore the top 10 most tracked aircraft and find out why these particular aircraft draw so much interest We are continually looking to improve our flight tracking and the airports below are where new receivers will add the most coverage Apply for a receiver today and if accepted you’ll receiver a free Flightradar24 Business Subscription A large fire near London’s Heathrow Airport knocked out power to Europe’s busiest flight hub and forced it to shut all day Travel expert Simon Calder explains how the incident is disrupting global travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers on Friday The British Airways jet touched down on Friday about 18 hours after the airport was closed due to a massive power outage London’s Heathrow Airport plans to resume limited flights Friday and expects normal operations by Saturday after a fire at a nearby substation disrupted power with flights slowly resuming about 18 hours after an inferno at an electrical substation caused a power outage The outage shuttered Europe’s busiest air travel hub and left 200,00 passengers stranded The first departure was scheduled for later Friday The British government temporarily lifted restrictions on overnight flights to help clear the backlog Heathrow’s shutdown had a massive impact on international travel because it is the busiest airport in Europe and one of the busiest in the world.OAG provided some statistics on Heathrow and the flights canceled._ Heathrow is the 5th largest airport in the world and 2nd largest for international capacity._ More than 1,300 flights had been scheduled Friday._ British Airways was the operator of more than half of those flights._ Destinations that were most impacted included New York’s JFK which had flights canceled with 5,300 seats of capacity; Dubai with 4,500 seats and Frankfurt with 3,000 seats Heathrow’s boss has apologized for the disruption caused by the airport’s daylong closure but says there was no choice but to shut the airport for safety reasons.Chief Executive Thomas Woldbye said “we would not shut down the airport unless we had severe safety concerns.”More than 1,300 flights due to take off or land were disrupted Friday after a fire ripped through an electrical substation near the airport.Woldbye said Heathrow drew power from three substations and two are still working but it was necessary to restructure the electricity supply after the fire to get Heathrow back up and running FILE - A United Airlines Boeing 787 approaches for landing in Lisbon United Airlines reports their earnings on Tuesday United Airlines says that it is continuing to adjust its flying schedule to London in close coordination with airport authorities The company added that it currently expects to operate most scheduled Friday departures to London British Airways says it will resume flights out of Heathrow Airport starting at 7 p.m The airline said it has been given clearance for eight long-haul flights to take of Friday night BA is passengers not to travel to the airport unless they are contacted by the airline Mark Doherty and his wife were halfway across the Atlantic when the inflight map showed their flight from New York’s JFK airport to Heathrow was turning around.“I was like you’re joking,” said Doherty – but soon the pilot told passengers they were heading back to New York.He said the pilot told them London’s second airport Gatwick “was full,” and they had no choice but to return.Back at JFK the couple were awaiting information from British Airways about when they could fly home.Doherty said the situation was “typical England – got no back-up plan for something happens like this Cancellations for British Airways flights to London Heathrow airport are displayed as cancelled on a departures board at JFK International airport London’s Heathrow Airport says it plans to resume some flights later Friday and hopes to return to a full schedule on Saturday The airport said in a statement that the first flights will be to bring stranded passengers back from other airports in Europe and to get airplanes back in the right place Smoke rises from the North Hyde electrical substation British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle says the closure of Heathrow Airport will have a “huge impact” on passengers even after it reopens Heathrow is BA’s base and it is the airline most affected by the shutdown Doyle said the airline had been due to operate more than 670 flights carrying more than 100,000 passengers on Friday Passengers booked to fly to or from Heathrow on Saturday or Sunday are being given the option to rebook to a later date for free Doyle said: “We hope that power will be restored as soon as possible this incident will have a substantial impact on our airline and customers for many days to come with disruption to journeys expected over the coming days.” Travelers say power is back on at one of the two Heathrow Airport terminals left in the dark after a fire at an electricity substation Lights came back on at Terminal 4 on Friday afternoon Firefighters earlier said that terminals 2 and 4 at the airport had lost all power after the blaze Heathrow shut the airport to all arriving and departing flights until at least midnight Electricity distributor National Grid said it had found an “interim solution” that reconfigured its network allowing electricity to be restored to all customers It’s unclear whether power to the airport has been fully restored Heathrow is facing questions about how it could be shut down by a fire at a single substation 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away The airport said it has emergency backup systems that worked as expected but they are not enough to run the whole airport director general of airline industry group IATA took to social media to lambaste Heathrow’s management how is it that critical infrastructure — of national and global importance — is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative,” he said in a post from IATA’s account on social media platform X “If that is the case — as it seems — then it is a clear planning failure by the airport.” He also questioned whether it was fair that airlines are solely responsible for “picking up the tab when infrastructure fails.” Travellers are waiting as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power Firefighters extinguish the fire at the North Hyde electrical substation which caught fire Thursday night and led to a closure of Heathrow Airport in London Planes are parked at Terminal 5 as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power Traveller arrive with their lugage at Terminal 4 as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power Empty seats and a board with cancelled flights is seen as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power Stranded travelers looking for somewhere to stay until they can fly out of Heathrow faced the possibility of jacked-up prices for rooms because hotels are “capitalizing on a huge spike in demand” the Crowne Plaza at Heathrow’s Terminal Four was charging 485 pounds ($627) for a room on Friday compared with 140 pounds for the same time next week “Hotels near major transport hubs like Heathrow often see price fluctuations during such crises as supply struggles to meet the sudden demand,” Hentschel said He added that “there is also an essence of the hospitality industry price gouging to cash in on unfortunate circumstances United Airlines says that it is offering a travel waiver to its customers while Heathrow is closed so that they can switch to eligible flights to Amsterdam The airline said that all flights scheduled to arrive at Heathrow on Friday are canceled due to the closure The fire that closed Heathrow has sparked one of the most serious disruptions to air travel in years Eurostar says it is adding two additional trains between London and Paris to accommodate passengers stranded by Heathrow’s shutdown The high-speed train that goes beneath the English Channel said it was increasing capacity by 882 passengers per train on Friday Heathrow Airport says it doesn’t know when power will be restored and expects disruption to last for days after an electrical substation fire nearby The airport said in a statement it does not have “clarity on when power may be reliably restored.” It said it expects “significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.” Heathrow earlier said the airport is not expected to reopen until Saturday While the cause of the fire that shut down Heathrow Airport is still unclear analysts say the incident raises concerns about the U.K.’s ability to withstand attacks or natural disasters that damage critical infrastructure such as communications and power networks “The U.K.’s critical national infrastructure is not sufficiently hardened for anywhere near the level it would need to be at to give us confidence this won’t happen again,” Mendoza said if one fire can shut down Heathrow’s primary systems and then apparently the backup systems as well it tells you something’s badly wrong with our system of management of such disasters,” he added The Heathrow disruption weighed on shares of European airlines which posted declines that outpaced the fall in broader main stock indexes on Friday were down 1.4% after falling as much as 3% in early trading which operates Germany’s biggest carrier as well as Austrian Airlines which operates the main carriers in France the Netherlands which owns five airlines including one that serves the British market Other European airlines that don’t operate at Heathrow were also dragged down by the negative sentiment easyJet was down 0.7% and Ryanair dipped 0.8 The British government says “clearly there are questions to answer” about how a single fire could shut down Europe’s busiest airport A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there must be a rigorous investigation to make sure “this scale of disruption does not happen again.” Tom Wells said the most pressing task is to extinguish the fire He said that “at the moment the priority is to deal with the incident in hand.” He said “it’s very premature” to speculate on the cause of the blaze Here’s a look at what’s happening and its impact on air travel Flight operations remain normal in the United States despite the Heathrow fire Delta Airlines has issued a travel waiver through Sunday for customers who need to rebook their flights due to the Heathrow fire The company canceled 10 flights scheduled to depart from Heathrow on Friday The Heathrow closure is drawing comparisons to the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption that closed much of European airspace for five days out of fears volcanic ash could damage jet engines The eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH’-lah-yer-kuhl) spewed an ash cloud that closed Europe’s airspace and grounded millions of travelers Iceland was briefly infamous as the country that stopped the world LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is receiving regular updates on the fire that has shut down Heathrow Airport as he thanked the emergency services tacking the blaze Starmer posted on X: “I know the situation in Heathrow is causing distress and disruption especially for those travelling or without power in their homes I’m receiving regular updates and I’m in close contact with partners on the ground Thanks to our emergency workers for keeping people safe.” Scandinavian Airlines has canceled all 12 of its flights to and from London Heathrow on Friday “We are closely monitoring the situation and remain in continuous dialogue with Heathrow we hope for a swift resolution,” the company said in a statement it’s considered the national airline of Denmark Travellers walk through the dark car park at Terminal 4 as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power a family of five traveling to Dallas had shown up in the hopes their flight home — still listed as delayed — would take off sister-in-law and their three children to the airport they were told by police that there would be no flight “We tried to get in touch with British Airways but they don’t open their telephone line until 8 a.m.” Heathrow is one of the world’s biggest airports but there are five others in the wider London area as well Travelers might be able to rebook through the remaining five airports -- City Stansted and Southend -- in the aftermath of Heathrow’s closure they aren’t all easy to reach from Heathrow Southend is about a 78-mile drive from Heathrow around the congested M25 orbital highway and then out to the eastern coast of England Residents in west London have described hearing a large explosion followed by a fireball and clouds of smoke when a blaze broke ripped through an electrical substation near Heathrow Airport then “a bright flash of white and all the lights in town went out.” Delivery driver Adeel Anwar said the heat and billowing smoke from the blaze were “absolutely apocalyptic.” He told Sky News that as he drove past the substation “I just felt the heat … I tried to just get out of the area as quick as possible.” Firefighters brought the blaze under control after seven hours and were still working to douse the flames on Friday Electricity supplier National Grid said power was restored to 62,000 customers by Friday morning Travelers exit Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after a fire at Heathrow Airport forced its closure NEW DELHI — All Air India flights to Heathrow were suspended until Friday midnight adding that it will “update about resumption of operations as soon as we have more information.” The airline also said one of its flights had to return mid-air to Mumbai and another was diverted to Frankfurt The company didn’t specify how many flights were affected in total Some passengers at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport said they had been informed of cancellations while others said they were still waiting for the airline to provide them with alternate flights “As soon I went inside to get my boarding pass they (airline staff) told us that the flight has been canceled and there is no flight for next two who was in India’s Jaipur city for a wedding said she received a text message en route to the airport “We had a text message about 20 mins before we arrived here but we were already on the road,” she said At least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow were affected already flight tracking service FlightRadar 24 said Aerial footage showed the aftermath of the fire at a electricity substation for Heathrow The video also showed dozens of grounded planes at the airport Eight outbound flights from Dubai International Airport to Heathrow Travelers were told to contact their airlines for rebooking options Spanish airport operator Aena said on Friday morning that 20 flights to and from Madrid and Barcelona had been canceled due to the Heathrow power outage A total of 54 flights headed to or departing from its terminals were affected the state-controlled commercial airport operator advised travelers to contact airlines for more information about disrupted flights The fire that shut Heathrow airport has caused limited disruption at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci international airport in Fiumicino A spokesperson said that so far 10 flights but passengers have been kept informed and there were no lines at the airport This photo provided by London Fire Brigade shows a fire at the North Hyde electrical substation Firefighters wait at the area around the North Hyde electrical substation Roads leading to the airport have been blocked as Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power British travellers Rajih Alshibli and Michele planning to go to Bahrain to see their daughter are stranded after Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power Smoke risies from the fire at the North Hyde electrical substation Plane are sitting at the Terminal after Britain’s Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power Ryanair has added eight “rescue flights” between Dublin and Stansted on Friday and Saturday to help travelers impacted by the fire at Heathrow Four of the flights will occur Friday afternoon BERLIN — All flights by Lufthansa Group to and from Heathrow were canceled on Friday but said in an emailed statement that “passengers affected by the flight cancellations have been rebooked on other flights and informed about it.” Lufthansa Group includes Germany’s biggest airline Britain’s Heathrow Airport will be closed Friday after a fire at an electrical substation knocked out power to the airport and thousands of homes About 150 people had to be evacuated after a transformer within an electrical substation caught fire in west London British officials working to determine the cause of an electrical substation fire that shut Heathrow Airport have not yet found evidence it’s suspicious Energy Secretary Ed Miliband says “it’s too early to say” what caused the huge blaze London’s Metropolitan Police say the fire brigade is leading the investigation suggesting it’s not thought to be criminal TOKYO — The closure of Heathrow forced two Japanese flights that had already departed to return to Tokyo and a third to change its destination Japan Airlines said one of its two Heathrow-bound flights Friday returned to Tokyo’s Haneda international airport and another one diverted to the Finnish capital Airline officials advised passengers to check the latest flight information for Saturday The noise from Europe’s busiest airport is a constant bugbear for those who live nearby to the point of no longer noticing,” said James Henderson who has lived next to Heathrow for over 20 years Airplanes are seen at the Heathrow Airport in London Australian airline Qantas diverted its Singapore-London and Perth-London flights to Paris on Friday and then bused the travelers to London Customers will be contacted directly if their flight is impacted LONDON — Aviation consultant John Strickland says it will take several days for global airline travel to recover from a daylong closure of Heathrow Airport He said: “We’re talking about several days’ worth of disruption to get the planes recovered and start using them again to move planned and disrupted passengers.” Strickland compared the disruption to “a contained version of 9/11 or the Icelandic volcanic eruption” that shut European airspace in 2010 “I remembered seeing on those occasions – particularly more so on 9/11 – it happened so quick and then U.S they were turning back aircraft and holding planes “Heathrow being such a busy airport and full there’s no kind of wriggle room for getting out of these kind of things.” A plane takes off over a road sign near Heathrow Airport in London The closure of Heathrow rippled through global aviation which has London as one of its top destinations cancelled six round-trip flights to Heathrow on Friday alone Etihad in neighboring Abu Dhabi cancelled two round-trip flights Qatar Airways said at least seven scheduled flights were “impacted,” with its staff working with passengers Thailand’s national airline Thai Airways posted on its official Facebook page that four of its flights scheduled for Friday and Saturday have been affected and advised passengers to check the schedules later in the day At least one of its London-bound flights appeared to have diverted to Brussels according to flight tracking service FlightRadar 24 A British government minister says a “catastrophic” fire knocked out a backup generator as well as the electrical substation that supplies power to Heathrow Airport Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC that the blaze is “unprecedented.” He said it’s too early to know the cause but that lessons will have to be learned about “protection and the resilience that is in place for major institutions like Heathrow.”