The Stricty Come Dancing professional dancer Aljaž Škorjanec was among thousands of passengers stranded and unable to fly back to the UK as a result of the Heathrow fire.
He said that he had been about to set off to the airport when he spotted the breaking news about the chaos at Heathrow caused by an overnight blaze in an electricity sub-station.
In a post on Instagram, Škorjanec, who was making his first solo trip abroad with his daughter Lyra-Rose, said: "I rebooked our flight to tomorrow morning and immediately resumed the position on the couch."
Škorjanec is married to former Strictly dancer Janette Manrara, who presents the Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two. In the last series of Strictly, he was partnered with the model and TV celebrity Tasha Ghouri.
Others unable to return to the UK include Scotland football fans who were in Piraeus for the Thursday night 1-0 victory over Greece in a Nations League first-leg tie.
These include BBC journalist Thomas Mackintosh, who said that other members of the Tartan Army were trying to get home via Dublin, Milan and Rome.
One holidaymaker who is stranded in the Maldives said British Airways staff on the ground had “no clue” when her flight would take off.
Basia Vercueil praised a BA manager for reassuring passengers that they would get home eventually.
But, speaking to Sky News, she added: “They have no clue when they will be able to put us on a flight.
“On top of us, there are loads of passengers who are meant to come back tomorrow [to the UK] from their holidays. Their aircraft are not going to be here because they are all stranded in some other places.
“We just have to sit and wait. Unfortunately [we have to wait at] the terminal and not in some lovely place, but we just hope that we will get home.”
Basia Vercueil, who is stranded in the Maldives, says British Airways 'have no clue when they will be able to put them on a flight' after Heathrow Airport closed due to a significant power outage.https://t.co/PAiZ4D1RJB
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 21, 2025
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Two women who were expecting to fly to Delhi on Friday say they "cannot explain" their disappointment at having their flights cancelled.
The women, Anupama and Ridihka, were both due to leave on a family holiday. Anupama had planned to attend her father's retirement party on Saturday.
Another passenger who was expecting to fly to Miami for his son's first day at university said Heathrow airport's website was “confusing”.
The man, whose first name was Ooso, walked with his suitcase from the roundabout outside Terminal 5 to the airport, only to be told he could not enter.
“Updates are showing 'flight on time', but nobody is allowed to go in,” he said. “It's so confusing.”
A couple who had planned to fly to Dallas said they had to travel to Gatwick to catch the first of several flights to get home.
They said: “We came down here from Scotland yesterday. We got to Heathrow at 5am but now we're having to go to Gatwick.
“We're then having to fly to Barcelona before heading to JFK (Airport) and onto Dallas.”
Andrea Sri, whose brother Andrew, his wife, and his three children were expected to fly back to Dallas in Texas, where they live.
They travelled to Heathrow after their British Airways flight was still displaying on the BA website.
Ms Sri, from Greenwich in London, said: “All the other flights to Dallas were cancelled but their particular one just said delayed, so we just thought 'maybe, there's a chance'.
“But we've come here and the police said no. It was a waste of time. Very confusing.
“We tried to get in touch with British Airways, but they don't open their telephone line until 8am.”
Another BA customer fears losing almost £1,500 due to the chaos.
Maria La Chica, 47, from Basingstoke, was due to fly to Washington DC at midday on Friday to her favourite ice hockey team, the Washington Capitals.
The project manager told the PA news agency she felt "quite annoyed" as her flight with BA was delayed on Friday morning. She was unsure if the airline would cancel her flight.
"I had really been looking forward to this (trip). It was like my treat to myself having had some personal events, so it's just very annoying," she said.
"I've had this (trip) booked for a little bit. The most important player of the (ice hockey) team is about to beat a record, so I wanted to see them before this record was done, but it's not going to happen now."
Ms La Chica considered booking alternative flights from other airports but her available options were "incredibly expensive" having already spent £600 on her flight, £600 on accommodation and around £250 on the match tickets.
