Qantas passengers' long stopover blamed on Heathrow difficulties

The QF2 departure was rescheduled to leave Heathrow nine hours early at noon today (19 July) because of Heathrow’s staffing crisis and with a switch from Terminal 3 to 4.

Upon landing in Singapore at breakfast time, passengers will be given accommodation until the regular 19.30 departure to Sydney. 

A Qantas spokesperson told Executive Traveller the airline was “disappointed” by Heathrow’s actions and admitted the solution “isn’t perfect”.

The carrier said it hoped the timetable and terminal change was a one-off and said it was in talks with Heathrow “on improving this situation”.

The airport is having difficulties in handling large aircraft such as Qantas’s Airbus A380s.

However, Sunday’s non-stop Heathrow-Perth flight, on a smaller Boeing 787, was delayed by three hours, also due to Heathrow’s directive, Executive Traveller said.