Swiftie flying Air India stranded at London Heathrow amid airport shutdown: ‘Bl**dy chaos over here’ | Trending

London’s Heathrow Airport announced on Friday that it will remain closed until midnight on March 21 after a power outage caused a fire at an electrical substation. The sudden disruption has left travellers stranded, with airlines scrambling to adjust flight schedules. A woman sought updates from Air India as Heathrow shut due to a power outage. (Also read: Family forced to pay ₹13,200 extra at airport for late check-in: ‘We had no choice’) Passenger frustration over lack of updatesAmid the chaos, a Taylor Swift fan identified as Siya took to X (formerly Twitter) to seek clarity. She wrote, “@HeathrowAirport @airindia I’m due to fly out of Heathrow airport in four hours but currently everything is closed and we are being told to head back. Please can you let me know the flight status for your flights this morning????” Air India responded to her, stating, “Dear Ma’am, due to a power outage at the airport, flight operations to/from Heathrow are currently affected. Ensuring the safety of our passengers and crew is our utmost priority. Any updates regarding changes to bookings will be communicated to the regered mobile number. We sincerely appreciate your understanding.” However, Siya remained dissatisfied, replying, “There have been no updates via any regered communication channels despite the airport announcing its closure four hours ago, and your online customer service number continues to reiterate the flight is still going despite the airport quite literally shutting its doors.” Check out the post here: Air India flights affectedAir India had earlier confirmed that its operations from Heathrow had been temporarily suspended following the airport’s closure. In a statement, the airline said, “Our operations to and from London Heathrow (LHR) have been disrupted following the temporary suspension of operations at the airport until 23h59 London time of 21 March, after a significant power outage.” The airline further informed passengers that flight AI129 from Mumbai to London was returning to Mumbai, while flight AI161 from Delhi was being diverted to Frankfurt. “All our remaining flights to and from London Heathrow, including AI111 of this morning, have been cancelled for 21 March. We will update about resumption of operations as soon as we have more information. Flights to London Gatwick remain unaffected,” the statement added. (Also read: Indian passengers welcomed with Chrmas cheer, music at London Heathrow airport) Fire disrupts airport and surrounding areasHeathrow Airport confirmed the closure in a statement on X, saying, “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” and advised passengers not to travel to the airport. The incident led to the evacuation of around 150 people from near buildings, with massive orange flames and plumes of smoke visible from a dance, Reuters reported. The power outage also affected neighbouring properties, causing further disruptions.