Around 100 pupils from Michael Drayton primary school school in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, were supposed to be returning on a flight from the Spanish city on Friday but it was among thousands cancelled due to an electrical fire at a substation near to the airport.
On Friday afternoon, she told the BBC pupils were “completely unaware of any travel disruption”, and were safe and happy with “a day of activities anyway”.
The journey by road is more than 1,000 miles through three countries but the children are expected back home by late evening on Saturday.
The substation fire which led to Heathrow being closed on Friday (Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)In an update posted on the school’s Facebook page Saturday morning, teachers said the children had stopped for breakfast in northern France and were enjoyed “warm pastries straight from the oven.”
Parents have praised the school for its response to challenging circumstances.
“The headteacher has done a fantastic job as have the staff.”
‘We’ve had another day snowboarding’
James Phillpott, 50, Damian Cairns, 51, and Joe Mahony, 43, snowboarding in France (Photo: Supplied)James Phillpott, 50, Damian Cairns, 51, and Joe Mahony, 43, were supposed to be flying back on Friday night but their British Airways flight was cancelled.
Three friends stuck on snowboarding trip in the French Alps because of the chaos at Heathrow say they have now been offered flights home on Monday.
They found out last night the first available flight back with BA will by on Monday evening.
“We’re grateful we could have been stuck in worse places,” Mr Phillpott told The i Paper.
“We’ve just been out for another day’s snowboarding so it’s not all bad.
“We’ve had to carry on staying here.
“Luckily our compnay Riders Refuge have let us stay on it hasn’t put us out too much.
“But it’s put our families out, we’ve got kids at home.
“I was supposed to be taking my father-in-law to a hospital appointment.”
The friends are concerned that BA has not confirmed whether they will be able to claim back any of the extra costs they’ve had in accommodation and food, which is likely to run to hundreds of pounds.
“All we’ve definitely had from BA is ‘we’ve moved your flight’,” said Mr Phillpott.
Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said affected passengers are not entitled to compensation but airlines should provide assistance such as overnight accommodation if required and re-routing bookings, including with rival carriers from alternative airports.
“Mrs Compton-Belcher has done an amazing job ensuring all the kids and staff get back home safely, I can’t even imagine the worry and stress both she and the staff on the school trip have had to deal with. I take my hat off to them!”
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The Metropolitan Police are not treating the incident as suspicious and the London Fire Brigade’s investigation is focusing on the electrical distribution equipment.
“Flights have resumed at Heathrow following yesterday’s power outage,” the airport said.
“We apologise for the disruption and appreciate your patience whilst operations return to normal.”
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