Hastily arranged extra flight after 300 Irish got stuck at Heathrow when the plane was selling too much

Tonight an additional flight from Heathrow was being hastily arranged to accommodate some 300 people who were stranded after an apparent overbooking on a previous flight.

The new flight to Dublin was scheduled to take off from Heathrow at approximately 10:30 PM on Sunday.

Previous photos and videos of long lines forming at Heathrow Terminal 5 appeared on social media when passengers arriving at the airport were unable to board an Aer Lingus flight scheduled for 8.55pm to Dublin.

One of the potential passengers, Katie Cullen, told The Irish Times that “around 300” passengers had been told that this flight had been oversold, and these passengers then queued up to try to rebook on an alternate flight.

“It is everywhere. People came after us and they haven’t been told anything and it’s general chaos. “

There was additional demand for flights from London tonight, as passengers planning to travel to Ireland tried to get home before a 48-hour ban on flights from Britain takes effect at midnight Sunday.

This decision was prompted by concerns about the emergence of a mutated strain of Covid-19 in London and the south-east of England.

Ms. Cullen said a queue was forming outside the terminal when she arrived at the terminal around 6.30pm. She and her friends had booked the flight on Sunday afternoon.

“The flight was operated by Aer Lingus, but British Airways was selling tickets for it. They were doing the same for the Heathrow to Belfast flight [tonight ],” she said.

After arriving at the terminal, Ms Cullen said it was difficult to get information after an initial update from a British Airways staff member.

A member of the airline staff updated the passengers again around 8:30 pm.

“He let us know that they are talking to him [Irish] Government and they are going to try to get us a flight tonight, so there is hope. He didn’t make any promises, but said that there is a possibility that we can catch a flight tonight, ”Ms. Cullen said.

An Aer Lingus spokesperson referred inquiries about the alleged overbooking to British Airways.