Airport delays live: Fog continues to cause disruption at Gatwick with snow and rain weather warnings to come
The Met Office says snow, rain and wind could hit parts of the UK from Monday
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Thick fog is expected to disrupt hundreds of flights home on the busiest travelling day of the Christmas holidays.
Thousands of passengers arriving at London Gatwick airport overnight endured long delays. Among the longest: an easyJet flight from Enfidha in Tunisia due at 11.10pm, which was over four hours late.
Heathrow, Stansted and Luton Airports said flights had not been affected by the weather as of Sunday morning.
Nats, the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said temporary air restrictions will continue on Sunday as airfields are affected by fog.
A Nats spokesman said: “While the weather conditions have improved, fog continues to affect some airports in London today.”
Sunday is expected to be Gatwick’s busiest day during the holiday period, with 769 flights planned.
After thick fog caused major disruption at airports across the UK over Friday and Saturday, with much of that clearing today, the Met Office has issued warnings effective from tomorrow.
The Met Office has issued the warnings for Monday and Tuesday - with up to 140mm of rain, 20cm of snow and 60mph winds possible in the worst-affected areas during the run-up to New Year’s Eve.
70mph winds expected to blast New Year’s Eve
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for winds of up to 70mph that may cause travel disruption on New Year’s Eve.
The alert, in place from 7am until 11pm on Tuesday, covers most of Northern Ireland, including Londonderry, Tyrone, Antrim and Armagh, as well as just north of York in England up to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Greenock.
Delays to transport are likely, with gusts of up to 60mph expected in most areas, the forecaster has warned.
Those affected should check road conditions for driving and the latest travel information as well as preparing for in advance for potential power cuts.
Barney Davis29 December 2024 14:15
In pictures: Cars driving in foggy conditions on the M20 near Folkestone in Kent
Barney Davis29 December 2024 13:15
Airport train cancellations add to passengers’ woes
Staff shortage on the railways means thousands of airline passengers will find they cannot easily get to or from the airport.
CrossCountry has cancelled a number of trains serving Birmingham airport, blaming a shortage of drivers and train managers.
The rail firm says: “Services will be extremely busy and may be subject to last-minute changes and cancellations. Essential travel only between Bournemouth, Reading and Birmingham.”
This is the line that includes Birmingham International, the station serving the West Midlands airport.
Manchester airport’s railway station is seeing the usual Sunday cancellations of trains by Northern due to a shortage of train conductors. The Manchester airport-Wilmslow link is one of nine routes that have been closed to trains for the day.
Northern says: “Recently, we have seen higher levels of cancellations in the north west and for that we are sorry. The underlying reason is train crew availability, in particular on Sundays which is contractually outside of the working week.”
Barney Davis29 December 2024 12:40
In pictures: Early morning dippers dodge the fog in epic sunrise swim
Swimmers brave the December chill as fog appears to dissipate above Cullercoats Bay on the north east coast of England.
Barney Davis29 December 2024 12:36
25cm snow warnings issued over New Year
Heavy rain and snow may bring significant disruption in the after New Year, the Met Office has warned.
The forecaster says a band of rain in association with a deep low pressure system moving in from the west pushes east on Wednesday affecting Scotland, North East and swathes of Yorkshire.
They say it’s likely to turn to snow as it moves into cold air across the northern half of the UK.
Around 2-5 cm is expected locally and nearer 10 cm of snow accumulations are possible widely, with 10-15 cm and locally 20-25 cm over hills with significant drifting due to strong winds.
The warning begins at 9am on January 1 and lasts until 3am January 2.
Barney Davis29 December 2024 11:38
Some London airports reporting clear runways
Heathrow, Stansted and Luton Airports said flights had not been affected by the weather as of Sunday morning.
Barney Davis29 December 2024 11:00
Krakow airport closed with dozens of diversions
The airport serving Poland’s most popular tourist city, Krakow, has seen dozens of arriving flights diverted to other cities, or simply cancelled, as fog blankets the area.
Problems began on Saturday, with the Institute of Meteorology warning of “dense fog with very poor visibility – 200m, locally 100m”.
The airport posted on Sunday morning: “According to the weather forecast today, from 9am the weather conditions will improve. Between 12 noon and 3pm a temporary deterioration of weather conditions is expected.”
So far on Sunday 40 flights have been diverted.
The main diversion airport is nearby Katowice, which is where Ryanair flights from London Stansted, Liverpool, Leeds Bradford, Belfast and Newcastle touched down, along with Wizz Air from Luton.
Rzerzow, Wroclaw and Warsaw in Poland, as well as Ostrava in the Czech Republic and the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, are also being used for diversions.
Simon Calder29 December 2024 10:56
Gatwick airport: Five hour delays to one flight
Thousands of passengers arriving at London Gatwick airport overnight endured long delays. Among the longest: an easyJet flight from Enfidha in Tunisia due at 11.10pm, which was over four hours late.
A British Airways jet from Lanzarote touched down at 3.03am, almost four hours behind schedule.
Among flights enduring three-hour delays were easyJet from Marseille and Palma, and BA from Alicante and Las Palmas.
Among Sunday morning arrivals, both Tui planes from Barbados arrived around two hours behind schedule.
The omens for Sunday flights from Gatwick look unfavourable, with easyJet to Grenoble and Montpellier both two hours late. Passengers have been told enigmatically by the airline: “Why is your flight delayed? We’re sorry that your flight has been delayed.”
The longest outbound delay of the day so far is expected to be Wizz Air from Gatwick to Larnaca. The plane was due out at 4.35pm but the airline says it will depart 5h20m late, arriving in Cyprus at 4.30am.
Simon Calder29 December 2024 10:31
Flight delays caused by the fog may continue into Sunday morning at Gatwick airport
A spokesperson for the West Sussex airport said: “Temporary air traffic restrictions have been put in place due to fog causing poor visibility.
“Some flights may be delayed throughout the day.
“London Gatwick apologises for any inconvenience.
“Passengers should contact their airline for further information.”
Barney Davis29 December 2024 09:26
Disruption caused by thick fog is expected to continue at some airports around London on Sunday.
Flights at Stansted Airport were affected by the weather conditions on Saturday, while live departure boards showed delays at Heathrow, Luton and Manchester Airports.
Nats, the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said temporary air restrictions will continue on Sunday as airfields are affected by fog.
A Nats spokesman said: “While the weather conditions have improved, fog continues to affect some airports in London today.
“Temporary air traffic restrictions are therefore in place at airfields with low visibility to maintain safety.
“Our teams are working closely with the airports and airlines to minimise disruption but passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.”
Barney Davis29 December 2024 09:10
