A major electrical failure at Heathrow’s primary sub-station late on 27 November forced Britain’s largest airport to run on reduced runway capacity, triggering a fresh wave of flight cancellations that spilled over into Cyprus. On 28 November British Airways (BA) axed both its morning and evening Larnaca–Heathrow rotations (BA670/671), stranding hundreds of passengers and leaving cargo shipments in limbo.
BA has begun re-accommodating travellers on weekend services and via Gatwick or Manchester, but premium-class and interline seats are scarce ahead of the holiday rush. Hermes Airports cautions that aircraft and crews are now out of position; knock-on delays could persist through Sunday. Pharmaceutical exporters who rely on Heathrow’s temperature-controlled cargo centre have been told to expect 24- to 48-hour lags.
![British Airways Power-Outage Fallout Disrupts Vital Larnaca–Heathrow Corridor]()
For corporate-mobility managers the incident underscores Cyprus’ dependence on a single UK gateway for finance, legal and shipping traffic. Travel buyers are scrambling for alternative routings via Athens, Vienna, Dubai and Istanbul, while reminding assignees that EU261 compensation will not apply because "extraordinary circumstances" relieve airlines of the obligation to pay cash. Nevertheless, BA is offering duty-of-care meals and hotel vouchers.
Industry groups renewed calls for more year-round links to regional British airports—Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh are frequently cited—as well as for the forthcoming Larnaca–Brussels PSO route to serve as a template for additional connectivity protection.
Heathrow’s operator expects full power to be restored late Friday. BA says its overnight Larnaca service remains on schedule, but a final decision will be taken closer to departure once stand availability is confirmed.
BA has begun re-accommodating travellers on weekend services and via Gatwick or Manchester, but premium-class and interline seats are scarce ahead of the holiday rush. Hermes Airports cautions that aircraft and crews are now out of position; knock-on delays could persist through Sunday. Pharmaceutical exporters who rely on Heathrow’s temperature-controlled cargo centre have been told to expect 24- to 48-hour lags.
For corporate-mobility managers the incident underscores Cyprus’ dependence on a single UK gateway for finance, legal and shipping traffic. Travel buyers are scrambling for alternative routings via Athens, Vienna, Dubai and Istanbul, while reminding assignees that EU261 compensation will not apply because "extraordinary circumstances" relieve airlines of the obligation to pay cash. Nevertheless, BA is offering duty-of-care meals and hotel vouchers.
Industry groups renewed calls for more year-round links to regional British airports—Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh are frequently cited—as well as for the forthcoming Larnaca–Brussels PSO route to serve as a template for additional connectivity protection.
Heathrow’s operator expects full power to be restored late Friday. BA says its overnight Larnaca service remains on schedule, but a final decision will be taken closer to departure once stand availability is confirmed.
