A burst water main close to London Heathrow Airport has shut down all rail lines to the airport, causing travel chaos as passengers scramble to catch their flights on what is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year, with families returning home following the late May Bank Holiday school holidays.
The water main burst at around 9 am on May 30, causing water to leak into a tunnel between Terminals 2 and 3 and Terminal 5. The tunnel is used by services operated by the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line.
To make matters worse, planned engineering works on the Picadilly Line, which normally serves all terminals at Heathrow Airport, have been ongoing since Thursday and aren’t expected to finish until late on Sunday.
In a statement, Heathrow Airport said teams were “working urgently to isolate the leak and make the area safe, enabling rail services to resume as soon as possible.”
Transport for London (TfL) is advising passengers trying to reach Heathrow Airport via public transport to take mainline South Western Railway train services from Waterloo station to Feltham and then catch a bus to the airport.
TfL is sourcing additional buses to get passengers from Feltham to all Heathrow. Note: If you are traveling to Terminal 4 or Terminal 5, do not travel to the Heathrow Central station as there is no inter-terminal train service.
Many passengers have resorted to catching taxis to the airport, but surge pricing is in force, and roads around Heathrow are incredibly congested.
Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, slammed the situation, describing a chaotic situation unfolding at Heathrow.
“People wandering around lost. Parents crying. Staff overwhelmed, a few trying to help, others avoiding passengers, chatting behind grills in the tube entrance,” Caroline wrote in a post on X.
“This is utterly shameful – an embarrassment for the UK, for TfL, and for Heathrow management. I accept flooding wasn’t planned, but seriously – at least try and direct/help passengers to alternatives,” Caroline added.
Heathrow Airport was unable to say when train services would resume.
