Access roads to Heathrow Airport have reopened after a burst water main caused widespread flooding and severe traffic disruption earlier in the morning.
The flooding on the Inner Ring Road West temporarily cut off access to Heathrow’s Central Terminal Area, which serves Terminals 2 and 3 and includes several airport buildings and connecting roads.
Heathrow said the airport is now operating normally, although passengers have been warned that congestion around the airport remains heavy. Travellers are being encouraged to use public transport where possible.
The disruption caused problems for passengers trying to reach their flights, with some travellers reporting lengthy delays on the roads.
Among those affected was 79-year-old George Smyrniadis, who missed his flight to Frankfurt, where he was due to attend a school reunion.
Smyrniadis travelled from Portsmouth and said his journey went smoothly until he left the M4. He then spent about 90 minutes stuck in traffic on a route that would normally take around 10 minutes.
By the time he reached airport security at approximately 09:30 BST, he was told he could not proceed because it was too late.
Speaking to the BBC’s Your Voice, Smyrniadis said the situation was extremely upsetting because it was the first reunion he had missed since 1987.
He also described the airport as chaotic and expressed frustration that, in his view, airlines appeared to continue operating normally despite the difficulties passengers were experiencing getting to the terminals.
Heathrow hit during peak summer travel
The disruption came during one of the busiest periods of the year as families travel during the school summer holidays.
Despite the flooding outside, there was no reported flooding inside Terminals 2 or 3, and flights were not directly affected by the incident.
The water pipes involved are owned by Heathrow Airport, which took responsibility for the repair work.
Heathrow said 19 July had been its busiest day of the year so far, with approximately 267,000 passengers travelling through the airport as schools began breaking up for the summer.
An airport spokesperson confirmed that all affected roads had reopened and said airport operations were continuing as normal.
The airport apologised for the disruption and thanked passengers for following the travel advice issued while repair teams worked to resolve the problem.
The incident follows recent disruption to railway services serving Heathrow, after a water leak forced the closure of a tunnel.