Overview

• A technical fault on the morning of August 5 forced closure of the Central Terminal Area tunnel to Terminals 2 and 3, blocking the M4 Heathrow Spur motorway.
• National Highways directed motorists to use the M25 and travel to Terminal 5, where shuttle trains run to all other terminals.
• Heathrow Express suspended services in both directions as overcrowding surged among passengers seeking alternative routes.
• Although the tunnel reopened by late morning, severe road gridlock and crowded transit links continue to delay journeys.
• The outage follows earlier power failures, fire alarms and security alerts this year and has intensified scrutiny over Heathrow’s capacity constraints and expansion plans.