Hotel prices have surged by up to £946 after Heathrow Airport was forced to close after an electrical substation fire – with furious passengers accusing firms of ‘profiting off people’s misfortune’.
One hotel close to the airport was tonight charging a whopping £1,000 for a standard room for two people.
The price listed for the North Avenue Guest House on Booking.com is staggeringly higher than the £54 for next Friday.
Meanwhile, prices have also surged to £555 at Radisson Red London Heathrow tonight – well above next Friday’s cost of £132.
Holiday Inn London Heathrow is charging £569 for standard room tonight but just £89 on March 28.
The costs of flights in and out of London have also surged in wake of the shutdown at Heathrow today.
According to Google Flights, prices to destinations such as New York, Edinburgh and Dublin are all well above their usual levels.
A ticket to New York is currently being listed at around £2,100, compared cheaper options of £250 to £500.
Whereas prices for flights to Edinburgh are also ‘high’ with the average sitting £158 on Friday lunchtime, compared to lows of £14 to £25.
It comes as one angry passenger accused hotels of hiking their prices to ‘absolutely absurd’ levels.
Holiday Inn London Heathrow (pictured) is charging £569 for standard room tonight but just £89 on March 28
One hotel close to the airport, North Avenue Guest House, was tonight charging £1,000 for a standard room for two people, compared to £54 next Friday
Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 where prices tonight at are more than three times the cost next week
Louis, a video producer, was due to fly home to to Dublin with Aer Lingus just before 9am on Friday.
But said his flight was cancelled following the London Heathrow closure affecting more than 1,300 flights.
The 28-year-old stayed the night at a hotel just ‘500 metres from Terminals 2 and 3’, but was forced to book a new room at a different hotel over fears his rescheduled flight for Saturday could be cancelled again, and has accused nearby hotels of increasing its prices amid the disruption.
‘They’ve actually doubled, if not, in some cases, tripled the prices of the rooms based on what’s going on, which is absolutely absurd. They’re profiting off of people’s misfortunes in this. I don’t know how that’s allowed,’ Louis told the PA news agency.
He said his original room cost around £90, but claimed he saw the same room on the hotel comparison site Booking.com for £280.
‘It’s frustrating, but it’s just beyond control,’ he said.
Pictured: Best Western London Heathrow Ariel Hotel where prices are tonight £445 compared to £64 next Friday
It will cost you £555 to stay at Radisson Red London Heathrow tonight, compared to £132 next Friday, according to prices on Booking.com
Staybridge Suites London Heathrow is tonight charging £599 compared to £98 next Friday
Other passengers have complained of having to rebook flights at extraordinarily high prices.
Lucy Sargeson told MailOnline she has spent £1,300 on flights to Singapore from Gatwick tomorrow, following cancellations at Heathrow today.
She said: ‘I had a flight booked from Heathrow to Sinapore today at 10pm and obviously I woke up to find that it’s cancelled. It’s a mess.
‘Singapore airlines told me that the earliest they can re book is March 29 but that is no good as I have an onward flight to Japan for a once in a lifetime holiday that is non-refundable.
‘I just had to spend 1300£ for last minute flights from Gatwick for tomorrow instead. The situation was a scramble as everyone had the same ideas and seats were selling out on Gatwick flights by the second.
‘I am honestly in shock I managed to get a seat for a Gatwick flight tomorrow. The whole thing is a nightmare and there’s absolutely no help from anyone.’
