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Heathrow closure leaves 100 pupils stuck in Spain

Andrew Dawkins
BBC News, West Midlands
Getty Images Planes at Heathrow Airport. Three British Airways planes are prominent in the photo, facing a yellow building, which is on the left. Other planes, grass and buildings are in the distance.Getty Images
Heathrow Airport has told passengers not to travel "under any circumstances" until it reopens, following the major electricity sub-station blaze

Up to 100 pupils who were due to fly home from Spain have been left stranded after a massive electricity sub-station fire forced Heathrow Airport to shut.

The Year 5 pupils, from Nuneaton, were due to return earlier from a trip to Barcelona in two groups, which are being managed by 11 staff.

In organising to get the Michael Drayton Junior School pupils back, head teacher Diane Compton-Belcher said she had spoken to British Airways (BA) and was now working through "a few different plans".

The airport has warned of "significant disruption" over the coming days, while BA said it was working as quickly as possible to update customers.

Ms Compton-Belcher said there were two plans to get the children home, with one to use an alternative airline to get them home on Friday night.

The second was to organise for them to stay in Barcelona for an extra night and "we do our very best to get them back tomorrow", she told the BBC.

She explained to BBC CWR that the pupils were currently "completely unaware of any travel disruption", and were safe and happy with "a day of activities anyway" before the flights were scheduled to take off at 17:40 GMT and 19:10.

Google A generic image of Michael Drayton Junior School, taken from outside the site, which has green railings at the front, close to a red and white school sign. Children are outside the building in the distance. Google
Michael Drayton Junior School said the children in Spain were safe and happy, with activities in Barcelona already scheduled through the day

Ms Compton-Belcher confirmed she was "going down all the correct channels" in her discussions with BA.

"I've spoken to group bookings also and they've recently just phoned me back," she said.

"The current stance unfortunately is that until Heathrow reopens, they cannot book any flights home.

"So, I've asked them if I can change to an alternative airport, because obviously we've got Birmingham close by or Manchester, but unfortunately they're not able to do that, so I am left working through a few different plans."

She added that the children were "not to know anything until there is a plan" and were "heading into the parks and no doubt they'll be returning to the beach".

London Fire Brigade Flames shoot into the nighty sky from the sub-station, which is surrounded by two sets of metal fencing, one with a CCTV warning sign on it.London Fire Brigade
The sub-station in Hayes caught fire in the early hours, forcing the airport's closure and the evacuation of 5,000 homes and disrupting more than 1,300 flights

Asked about informing parents, Ms Compton-Belcher said the school would "communicate [with them] as soon as we can".

The Spanish language pupils have been in Barcelona on "a cultural trip with curriculum advantages as well", she added.

In a statement, BA said "customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice".

"This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we're working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond," they added.

Heathrow Airport said the fire had caused a "significant power outage".

"To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March," it said in a statement.

"Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience."

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