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Heathrow flooding resolved: roads reopen, burst water main confirmed as cause

By Heathrow Airport Guide Newsroom · Published 15 August 2026 at 13:10 (UK time)
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The exterior of Heathrow Terminal 5
File photo: KTo288 · CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

All roads to Heathrow Airport have reopened after a burst water main flooded part of the central terminal area early on Saturday 15 August 2026, and the airport says it is now operating as normal.

The flooding happened along Inner Ring Road West, which prevented road access to the central terminal area covering Terminals 2 and 3, according to the BBC. Road closures began just before 06:00 BST. Heathrow says the affected pipes are its own, and its teams carried out the repairs.

BBC News reported that it is understood there was no flooding inside either terminal, and that flights were not disrupted by the incident. The Press Association, cited by the Independent, separately confirmed the flooding was caused by a main leak beneath Inner Ring Road West in the central terminal area.

A Heathrow spokesperson told the BBC: "Following earlier road flooding impacting access to Terminals 2 and 3, all roads have now reopened and the airport continues to operate as normal. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we thank passengers for following the advisories we had put in place while our teams worked to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."

Passengers are still advised to allow extra time on the roads around the airport, as the earlier closures left heavy congestion in the area. The disruption came during the school summer holidays, one of Heathrow's busiest periods; the airport said 19 July had been its busiest day of the year so far, with 267,000 passengers passing through.

This is the second infrastructure-related disruption to hit Heathrow access in a matter of

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Posted by the Heathrow Airport Guide team. Always confirm live travel conditions with the official operator or your airline before you set off.

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