A bride has been left in ‘crisis mode’ following the nightmare at Heathrow Airport last week – leaving her anxious about if she, her partner or her guests would be able to make the special day
A woman was left in “crisis mode” after not knowing if she would make her wedding following the fiasco at Heathrow Airport last week.
While getting married is a joyous occasion, the planning and organising can also be highly stressful. Conducting an event as big abroad can be even more of a challenge. So imagine the worry when a bride was told that Heathrow Airport was shut on the day before she was due to fly out for her big day.
The UK’s busiest transport hub was forced to close on Friday [March 21] after a devastating fire caused chaos. This led to an “unprecedented” loss of power. More than 1,300 flights were unable to leave or arrive at Heathrow, and 300,000 travellers were left stranded across the globe.
Bride Tia was left gobsmacked by the news after spending months planning her trip. On her TikTok page @tialeww, she worryingly said: “Am I getting to my wedding tomorrow?”
READ MORE: Heathrow Airport slams National Grid boss who claims it had ‘enough power’ despite shutdown
The wife-to-be has been sharing updates of her wedding countdown online – from beauty routines to treatments, workouts, packing and her general excitement. In February she got legally married in London at a registrar office and hosted a small, intimate wedding. But now she and her husband are having a big wedding with all their loved ones abroad.
Tia was visibly stunned by the airport news and was left in a panic about what to do. Tia explained: “I’m supposed to be flying to my destination wedding tomorrow from Heathrow and I woke up to the news about the airport being shut and whatever’s on fire and I’m just like, I feel like I’m having an out of body experience. My hands won’t stop shaking.”
Tia was left with so many unanswered questions. Thinking ahead and organising a plan B, she booked onto a flight at Manchester Airport in case she was not able to get a flight from Heathrow.
She added: “Am I getting to my wedding? What does it mean for the flights in later on in the week for people? Are they going to be cancelled? Like what does this mean? Am I getting my flight tomorrow morning from Heathrow?”
People rushed to comment as one individual said: “Omg I had a destination wedding too! I would’ve fell to my knees. I’m so sorry. I would absolutely look for a different airport. I wouldn’t risk it.”
Another commented: “Someone get this girl on a private jet right now! someone must know someone that knows someone!”
One other added: “Honestly this is such a freak incident. Who would expect a airport shutting down. Hope it’s all resolved for you.” “Oh gosh this is the stuff of nightmares! I’ve got everything crossed for you,” commented one other.
Another worried individual, travelling to see their poorly sister, shared: “I’m supposed to be flying to Singapore as my sister is having surgery to remove cancer, her op is Tuesday. I’m so stressed. I really hope your flight is soon.”
Tia shared an update on Saturday, and added: “Heathrow being shut the day before we fly to our destination wedding was not on my bingo card this morning. Planning a wedding is stressful enough but this is like a new fear that’s been unlocked.
“Waiting all day to find out if our flight will even go in the morning. Worrying about the knock on effect it’s going to have for guests later in the week that are flying to the wedding. It’s safe to say I definitely have a few extra grey hairs right now.”
Thankfully, on Sunday she shared a video of her smiling while looking out of a plane window to sea and sunshine. She luckily made it to her destination and her wedding will go ahead. “We made it,” she shared.
She added: “Guys we did it, we are finally on our way to our wedding, I can’t believe it. It sounds so silly but everyone being so positive really helped me.”
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye has apologised, following the nightmare at Heathrow. Woldbye explained how a backup transformer failed meaning systems had to be closed down in accordance with safety procedures. He said: “We were handling the consequences of that failure,” adding that he was “proud” of the way that the airport handled the situation, in an interview with the BBC.
On Sunday, the airport wrote on X: “Flights have resumed at Heathrow following yesterday’s power outage. If you’re due to travel today, we advise you to still contact your airline for your latest flight information before heading to the airport. We apologise for the disruption and appreciate your patience whilst operations return to normal.”
Were you affected by the recent faults at Heathrow Airport? Comment below.
