“With flights at Heathrow Airport suspended indefinitely after a power outage, travellers will be left searching airline websites for new travel updates and for ways to change or get refunds on existing tickets,” said Suhaib Zaheer, SVP at DigitalOcean and GM of Cloudways.
“To avoid customer frustration during stressful times, it’s essential for airlines and travel operators to look at how they can improve their online customer experiences. This is something that takes preparation,” he added.
Tracking site Flightradar24 estimates that 1,357 flights—679 arrivals and 678 departures—will be affected today, including around 120 that were already in the air when the shutdown was announced.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News it was “too early to know” what caused the “catastrophic fire.”
In a statement, Heathrow Airport urged passengers to stay away, warning of continued disruption. “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, we have no choice but to close Heathrow until 23:59 on 21 March 2025. We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.”
With flights unable to land, planes that were already en route to Heathrow have been diverted to other European airports, while some have turned back to their original departure points. Trains to the airport have also been suspended.
Zaheer stressed the importance of digital readiness in moments of crisis, saying: “During times of heavy disruption, it’s important to make the experience of re-booking, re-routing or refunding trips as seamless as possible. This will also help to divert unnecessary spikes in traffic away from call centres, alleviating the strain on support staff to improve customer service.”
He also emphasised the need for airlines to invest in strong digital infrastructure. “Investing in robust and scalable hosting infrastructure during website traffic surges is crucial in optimising website performance. And with many on the move, a responsive, mobile-friendly website is a must for delivering a seamless experience,” he said.
With Heathrow typically resuming operations around 5am following its overnight quiet period, airlines and passengers now face uncertainty over when normal service will be restored.
Zaheer warned that businesses must be proactive to avoid future crises. “Airport and airline disruption can be hard to predict, and therefore businesses need to remain proactive in eliminating future inefficiencies all year round.”
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