London Heathrow departures halted due to fuel system malfunction


Now they can't even put fuel in the planes! More Heathrow chaos as 'fuelling system failure' halts departures for an hour... amid fears of 'Armageddon' over school holidays with more looming strikes.

Thousands of travellers heading through Heathrow were today left to endure the latest scenes of chaos hitting Britain's beleaguered airports after flights were delayed due to a fuelling issue.

A 'technical fault' with the airport's Jet A-1 fuel system shortly before 2pm meant dozens of outbound planes were unable to leave the tarmac for over an hour at the UK's busiest travel hub on Saturday. 

The malfunction meant thousands of holidaymakers were left in the lurch and forced to wait for hours at departure gates or on board their flights, and is the latest in a long line of mishaps to hit Britain's airports this year.

Dozens of frustrated passengers took to Twitter to vent their disappointment with the latest cruel blow to their holiday plans, while others fumed that they would miss transfers and connecting flights owing to the error.  

The delay hits passengers just days before the UK's summer holiday season is expected to ramp up, with millions of passengers bracing for disruption as travel bosses tell airlines to cancel more flights while aviation experts have shared fears over an extended period of 'Airmageddon'.

Hundreds of passengers heading to Stansted Airport were also seen stranded in snaking queues today after an ASLEF union strike caused fresh travel headaches for travellers.

And there is set to be even more disruption later this month with hundreds of British Airways check-in staff are expected to walkout in a dispute of pay, although a date has not been set for this. 

Staff shortages, issues with baggage handling services and a lack of trained security staff are all contributing to the disruption seen at many of the UK's major commercial airports this year.

Heathrow and Gatwick have both started pre-emptively cancelling flights, while government officials are reportedly toying with the idea of introducing a surge pricing scheme for planes that operate during peak hours. 

It comes after months of travel chaos at British airports, with travel hubs struggling to cope with the number of passengers trying to travel abroad after Covid restrictions were eased. 

There have been repeated complaints about long queues for security at airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester, while a shortage of baggage handlers has led to long delays in people collecting their luggage


Source: Daily Mail

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