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All roads to Heathrow Airport’s Terminals 2 and 3 have reopened following a burst water main, which caused hours of disruption this morning.
A leak beneath the airport’s Inner Ring Road West disrupted access to the terminals.
A Heathrow spokesperson said the problem was discovered in the early hours of Saturday morning.
They told the Standard: “The burst water main is continuing to impact road operations in the central terminal areas. The leak has been isolated and we’re working on repairs.”
At 12.25pm this afternoon, the airport stated that normal service had finally resumed.
A spokesman said: “Following earlier road flooding impacting access to Terminals 2 and 3, all roads have now reopened and the airport continues to operate as normal.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we thank passengers for following the advisories we had put in place while our teams worked to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”
Earlier, it said: “Flooding in the central terminal area has resulted in on-going road closures restricting access to Terminals 2 and 3.
“Passengers travelling to or from either of these terminals today must not travel by road.
“Passengers are strongly advised to use Heathrow Express, Elizabeth Line and Piccadilly Line rail services where possible.
“Any passengers that must travel by car must use Park and Ride, head to Terminals 4 or 5 and take free rail services from there, or change at local rail stations. Please allow extra time for your journey.
“Our teams are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, we apologise for any disruption caused.”
The disruption left passengers scrambling to catch their flights.
Rahel Staeheli, 42, and her family have been staying in central London and were due to fly from Heathrow to Vancouver today.
The mother told Press Association they had initially planned to get an Uber to the airport, but learnt that no cars could get near terminals two or three so had to change their plans.
She said they “navigated” the Tube stations instead, adding: “Now we’re late and hopefully we’re going to catch our flight.”
T2 is Heathrow’s second busiest terminal, handling over 16 million passengers every year. It is the primary hub for Star Alliance airlines, which includes Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines.
The disruption comes during one of the busiest periods for the airport as millions head overseas during the school holidays.
The airport saw its busiest day of the year on July 19, when 267,000 passengers passed through the hub.
Earlier this week, it was revealed Heathrow lost its position as Europe’s busiest airport to Istanbul.
Figures published by the airport show 7.86 million passengers passed through its four terminals in July whereas its Turkish counterpart recorded 8.15 million passengers over the same period.
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Heathrow continues to operate its two runways at near-full capacity, and is seeking Government permission to build a third.
An expansion proposal by the airport’s owners would enable it to accommodate 150 million passengers per year.
It recorded 84.46 million passengers in 2025.
Heathrow said in a statement: “Heathrow is operating at capacity.
“The case for expansion has never been clearer, as Heathrow was overtaken in July by Istanbul airport as the busiest hub in Europe.
“Our plans will ensure the country gets the infrastructure it needs to stay competitive and will deliver all-important economic growth.”