'I need to be home': Stranded Heathrow passengers separated from loved ones

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - Thousands of travelers stranded by a immense occurrence adjacent London's Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, scrambled to find ways to get location and reunite with their families connected Friday arsenic they faced what could beryllium days of disruptions.

Heathrow was shut as astir 70 firefighters sought to enactment down the blaze astatine a adjacent electrical substation successful the westbound of London that knocked retired powerfulness astatine the airdrome arsenic good arsenic the area's back-up powerfulness system.

Airlines advised passengers not to question to the airport, and Britain's vigor curate Ed Miliband warned it would instrumentality clip to recover from the "catastrophic" fire.

Waiting astatine cardinal London's Paddington station, which usually offers explicit bid work to Heathrow, U.S. traveller Tyler Prieb contacted airlines Friday morning, hoping to find a caller formation backmost to his location successful Nashville, Tennessee.

"I'm definite everybody is going to need a caller formation somewhere, somehow. So I'm conscionable trying to get up of that the champion I can," said Prieb, 36, who was successful London for enactment and to spot friends.

"Hopefully, it volition conscionable instrumentality maine an other time to get backmost to my woman and my daughter. And they are astir apt wishing I would beryllium location already," helium said.

More: Heathrow Airport successful London closed aft electrical substation occurrence cuts power

In the meantime, Prieb said helium had asked OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT for ways to walk the time.

"I thought possibly I'd spell research different metropolis somewhere," helium said.

Heathrow was owed to grip 1,351 flights during the day, flying up to 291,000 passengers.

A Heathrow spokesperson told Reuters successful an email that determination was nary clarity connected erstwhile powerfulness would beryllium restored, and they expected important disruption implicit the coming days.

John Moriarty, different U.S. traveller, listened attentively to his phone's speaker, hoping to get done to his airline's lawsuit work helpline.

The 75-year-old said helium was anxious to instrumentality to Boston to spot his daughter, who had travelled from New York to sojourn him.

"All the lines are busy, truthful I mightiness beryllium present different day. Not the worst happening successful the world. (London) is my favourite city, but I need to beryllium home," 75-year-old John Moriarty said.

Travel experts said the disruption would widen acold beyond Heathrow, and planetary formation schedules volition beryllium affected much broadly, arsenic galore craft volition present beryllium retired of position.

More: Global formation turmoil arsenic London's Heathrow closed by immense fire

Mahmoud Ali, 40, an worker of Domino's Pizza successful London, had been owed to alert to his autochthonal Pakistan to beryllium with his woman and children, who helium has not seen since past summer.

"They are waiting for me. I'm trying to telephone the hose and Heathrow (to find out) what clip the concern volition beryllium resolved," helium said.

The occurrence has besides forced the rerouting of incoming flights, leaving passengers unsure of wherever they volition land.

Some flights from the United States were turning astir mid-air and returning to their constituent of departure.

Adrian Spender, who works astatine British retailer Tesco, said successful a station connected X that helium was connected an Airbus A380 that had been headed for Heathrow.

"#Heathrow no thought wherever we are going yet. Currently implicit Austria," helium wrote.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Writing by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Joe Bavier)

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected USA TODAY: Heathrow Airport closure: Passengers stranded