Travel chaos as departures are STOPPED at Heathrow & passengers are forced to wait hours for baggage
FLIGHTS from Heathrow were suspended for an hour this afternoon.
Thousands of passengers at Britain's busiest airport were plunged into chaos as staff battled with a fuelling system failure.
The Jet A-1 system malfunctioned shortly before 2pm and departures resumed around an hour later.
It meant huge numbers of holidaymakers were left stranded at their gates, while others were forced to wait it out on board.
One fed up traveller tweeted: "What’s going on with your fuel delivery system?
"Sitting on the plane at the gate because we can’t get fuel. So many missed connections.";
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Another said: "What’s going on with your fuel system right now? Everyone is grounded."
While a third sarcastically posted: "When big big Heathrow runs out of fuel for all aircrafts right before your flight."
A spokesperson for the airport said: "A technical fault with the airport’s fuelling system has now been resolved.
"We are working with all airport partners to minimise disruption, however flights out of Heathrow this afternoon may be subject to delays.
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"We apologise for any impact this has on people’s journeys."
Inbound flights were unaffected by the fuelling issues, but passengers arriving in London faced their own disorder.
Scores of people claim they have been left waiting for hours to collect their suitcases with "no staff in sight".
Gino Ginelli, who landed just after midday, tweeted: "Nearly two hours after landing six hours late, there is still no baggage in Terminal 3.
"Heathrow, like the rest of the UK, is broken and the very worst welcome."
Another traveller added: "QF001 landed in London two hours ago and still no one has luggage.
"Where is it and where are your staff to help? Heathrow says it is your issue Qantas.
"Shall we bill our parking ticket to Qantas or Heathrow?"
'LIKE A DISASTER MOVIE'
And Adam Kent, who arrived at Terminal 3 from Orlando, Florida, described the scene at baggage claim as looking like "a disaster movie".
The 59-year-old, from Worcestershire, said the sight "made a horrendous first impression of chaos" for international visitors.
"Lost luggage everywhere, stacked between baggage belts everyone stepping over it and no one doing anything about it," he added.
"Being brutally honest, it looks like a serious health and safety issue.
"No one visible on the ground to explain the carnage or sort out the mess, it seems like lots of luggage has not arrived with passengers and just been dumped."
Holidaymakers have already faced months of mayhem thanks to staff shortages, sickness and strikes causing delays and cancellations.
But Brits face further travel headaches as airlines are set to announce a new wave of cancellations at Heathrow.
British Airways is expected to cancel the most flights, but all airlines have until Friday to tell the airport which flights will no longer be running.
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Government regulations are allowing a one-off "amnesty" on airport slots rules, enabling airlines to plan ahead and deliver a more realistic summer schedule with a view to minimising disruption.
They will be able to call off flights without being penalised, but must finalise their summer schedules by July 8.
