Just Stop Oil protesters arrested at Heathrow as flights cancelled at airports (2024)

Noora Mykkanen

All lanes have now reopened after the car fire between J13 and J12 near Heathrow Airport in Staines.

However, drivers were warned of residual delays of around 20 minutes and four miles of congestion.

Noora Mykkanen

Part of the Northern line was suspended briefly after a fire alert at Finchley Central.

There are minor delaysbetween High Barnet, Mill Hill East and Battersea Power Station via Charing Cross, the latest TfL travel status shows.

Noora Mykkanen

If you’re travelling to Stansted this afternoon, prepare for delays as some tracks between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport are blocked.

CrossCountry, Greater Anglia and Stansted Express trains are affected at least until 3.30pm due to a fault with the signalling system.

Cancellatoins, delays of up to 25 minutes or revisions are possible.

Here are all the affected routes.

• Stansted Express between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport
• Norwich-Stansted via Cambridge
• CrossCountry routes

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South Western Railway trains have been hit with major disruption after a trespasser on tracks today.

‘Due to trespass on the railway between Fulwell and Shepperton all lines are blocked,’ SWR said.

Trains between the stations could be cancelled, delayed or revised, with disruption expected until 2pm.

Noora Mykkanen

Drivers were warned of chaos on the M25 after a car fire near Heathrow Airport.

The incident was reported on the anticlockwise carriageway between J13 (Staines-upon-Thames) and J12 (M3 Surrey) at about 10am.

Only one lane out of five is open, and there is congestion up to Heathrow Airport, the AA said.

National Highways warned of 60-minute delays and five-mile queues.

Noora Mykkanen

Climate activists have stormed Heathrow Terminal 5 again – a second protest at the airport within days.

Six protesters were seen standing with ‘Oil kills’ signs in front of the automatic security gates.

But the action did not cause major disruption as holidaymakers were able to get to security through another gate.

The Met Police confirmed that seven Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested on suspicion of public order offences after they blocked the search area.

Heathrow Airport said the protest did not affect flights in T5 and ‘all involved were immediately removed from the airport.’

A spokesperson for the airport told Metro.co.uk: ‘Unlawful and irresponsible protest activity is not the way forward and will not be tolerated.

‘Our priority will always be to maintain the safety of passengers and colleagues, and we’ll continue to work closely with our partners and the police in taking proportionate action to protect travel plans this summer.’

Flights cancelled at London City Airport

Noora Mykkanen

Some flights have also been axed at the City Airport in central London.

Here are the flights that appeared as cancelled on Flightradar24.

ITA Airways AZ217 at 7.40am to Milan

British Airways BA8765 at 11.45am to Zurich

British Airways BA8706 at 3.50pm to Edinburgh

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National Rail has also given a heads up about the potential thunderstorm forecast in the UK later today, coupled with warm and humid weather.

While there is currently no weather related disruption on train lines, National Rail explained what issues could become a problem in extreme weather.

• Heat can cause line-side fires, cause overhead lines to expand and sag and even cause rails to buckle
• Heavy rainfall can cause flooding on tracks
• Flooding can also affect points and signalling equipment which enables trains to move from one line to another

If you’re travelling by rail today, it is worth checking the journey planner with your train company or National Rail, and to carry a water bottle with you.

Noora Mykkanen

Passengers on the Docklands Light Railway were warned of reduced service ahead of the weekend.

The latest TfL status update shows that the line will have less trains today, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

TfL said that a ‘reduced service operates on the entire network.’

Noora Mykkanen

While the thunderstorm is not set to bring an end to the warm temperatures, it is forecast to arrive with heavy downpours.

The motoring expert RAC warned that sudden downpours could quickly turn roads dangerous.

Alice Simpson, RAC’s breakdown spokesperson, said: ‘Sudden downpours have the potential to quickly make the roads far more dangerous places – a fact illustrated by official figures that show an average of 1,660 people are killed or seriously injured every year as a result of bad weather making roads slippery.’

If possible, drivers should ‘delay their journeys until the storm pass,’ Alice said.

Other key things to remember before travelling by car in thunderstorms include sticking to major roads, reducing speeds and always keeping a firm hold of the steering wheel.

To avoid a breakdown, drivers should check oil and coolant levels when the engine is cold, and to top up if levels are low, the RAC advised.

Noora Mykkanen

A number of flights appeared as cancelled on the airports’ departure boards as passengers woke up to a thunder weather warning this morning.

Here are all the flights hit by cancellations according to Flightradar24.

Heathrow Airport

United UA3908 at 6.30am to New York EWR

British Airways BA127 at 2.05pm to Doha

British Airways BA225 at 4.05pm to New Orleans

Lufthansa LH911 at 4.30pm to Frankfurt

Swiss LX325 at 5.10pm to Zurich

Virgin Atlantic VS41 at 5.20pm to San Fransisco

MEA ME204 at 10pm to Beirut

London Gatwick

British Airways BA2574 at 6.25am to Nice

British Airways BA2530 at 10.20am to Jersey

British Airways BA2720 at 2pm to Dubrovnik

British Airways BA2273 at 3.05pm to New York JFK

British Airways BA2642 at 3.50pm to Malaga

Have you been affected? Please contact noora.mykkanen@metro.co.uk.