Flight diversions a "complex challenge" for airlines, aviation analyst says
The closure of Heathrow Airport has caused massive travel disruptions, with hundreds of flights coming from across the globe forced to divert midair.
Many of the diverted flights would likely be coming from Asia and the Pacific, aviation analyst Shukor Yusof told CNN, because their long-haul routes mean they would have taken off before the closure and would not have the option to turn back.
The process to decide where the flights would be diverted is a dynamic and “fast-moving” one, Yusof, founder of Endau Analytics, said.
Pilots would likely be informed about the airport shutdown midair by the airline’s operations team, who would be in close coordination with Britain’s aviation authority to determine a location for the aircraft to land, Yusof said.
Only a limited number of spots at nearby airports would be available, forcing pilots and airlines to potentially seek other options outside of the UK in this case, he explained.
One important, potentially deciding factor in their reroutes would be fuel, as pilots may also be asked to circle midair while waiting for a free runway to land on, according to Yusof.
On Friday, there were 120 flights in the air forced to divert to alternate airports or return to their origin as a result of Heathrow’s closure, according to flight tracking site FlightRadar24.
Arrivals into Heathrow were due to come from across the globe, including from Sydney, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Johannesburg, New York, Miami and other cities.
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