Flight chaos, stranded passengers and lost profits: how airlines manage crises like the Heathrow shutdown

A shutdown at such a major global transport hub will leave airlines — and other businesses — counting the costs for some time to come

Stranded passengers at Heathrow Terminal 5 in London. British Airways say they have been given clearance.

In 2024, Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe by passenger numbers and the fourth busiest worldwide. Nearly 84m passengers passed through its five terminals during the year. These figures highlight the scale of disruption caused by its recent complete closure after a fire at an electricity substation.

Airlines with just a limited number of flights to and from Heathrow are likely to have experienced only minimal disruption — something airlines face regularly as part of standard operations. But the impact on airlines that use Heathrow as a main hub will turn out to be severe. For these airlines, which operate on very slim margins, the associated costs can be so high that they may wipe out several months’ worth of profits.