Christmas plans have been cancelled at the last minute after the UK’s busiest airport axed 100 flights amid severe weather warnings.
News of the cancellations comes at a busy time of year for air traffic with millions hoping to get away during the festive season.
London Heathrow made the decision to call off the flights while dozens of ferry routes in Scotland and Ireland are also no longer operating due to severe 80mph winds.
Warnings have been put in place for today with much of the UK covered in a yellow alert signifying ‘a prolonged period of strong winds’.
Of the Heathrow cancellations, eighty are on British Airways and involve short-haul domestic and European flights.
Three round-trips to Amsterdam and Glasgow have also been grounded.
Other airlines affected are Aer Lingus; Dublin Eurowings; Cologne Iberia; Madrid KLM; Amsterdam Lufthansa; Frankfurt (two round-trips) SAS; Oslo Swiss; Zurich TAP; Lisbon Turkish Airlines; Istanbul Virgin Atlantic: Miami.
It comes as Heathrow Airport announced a ‘small number of flights’ had been stopped due to ‘strong winds and airspace restriction’ and British Airways said disruption was likely to continue throughout the weekend.
Warnings have been put in place for today with much of the UK covered in a yellow alert signifying ‘a prolonged period of strong winds’
Hundreds of passengers are facing Christmas travel chaos as 90 flights from Heathrow Airport are cancelled and 200 more delayed amid weather warnings for strong wind
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‘We’re offering free flight changes for those customers booked on short-haul services who don’t wish to travel this weekend, and we will be offering rebooking and refund options as always to those whose journeys are disrupted as a result of the restrictions.
‘While the vast majority of our customers will travel as planned, our teams are working hard to help those who have been affected get their travel plans back on track at this important time of year.’
Brits in the highlighted areas have been told they can expect delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport.
Stefan Donnelly, 35, had travelled from London to Scotland where he discovered his ferry from Cairnryan to Larne had been cancelled.
Mr Donnelly had planned to travel at 8pm on Saturday but has managed to rebook onto the 8pm sailing on Sunday.
The marketing manager, who is travelling home to Northern Ireland for Christmas, said communication from P&O Ferries had been poor as he only discovered his sailing had been cancelled from social media.
‘I was on my way to Cairnryan yesterday and happened to check Twitter to discover my ferry was cancelled,’ Mr Donnelly said.
A Heathrow spokesperson said ‘a small number of flights’ have been cancelled on Saturday due to ‘strong winds and airspace restrictions’
Currently, 33 flights from the west London airport have been axed today, and another 58 tomorrow.
Queues on the A102 Blackwall Tunnel approach in Greenwich South East London as the Christmas getaway begins
Passengers at London Euston station awaiting to leave London this morning
Long delays at the Port of Dover saw holidaymakers in long queues as they tried to board the ferry for the Christmas getaway
Showers could turn to several centimetres of snow on the hills in the north west of Scotland from Saturday evening into Sunday, the Met Office warned. Picture: People in the snow in Edinburgh, Scotland
‘I stopped in Ayr and booked a night in a hotel there.
‘There wasn’t any communication from P&O, I didn’t get an email or a text message or anything.
‘I was on the phone for about an hour-and-a-half this morning but I eventually got through to someone.
‘They were saying on the Twitter side that the 8pm ferry I’m getting today was full but then they weren’t actually, and I’m traveling as a foot passenger, which makes it easier for (P&O).’
The comments come as there could also be a short term loss of power and other services on top of journeys generally taking longer with the likelihood of this impacting some bus and train services.
The Met Office said: ‘Strong and gusty northwesterly winds are expected to develop on Sunday.
‘Gusts of 50-60 mph are expected quite widely, and around some exposed coasts and hills of gusts 70 mph are possible, especially in the north and west. In addition, squally showers are likely with some hail and thunder possible in places.
‘This has the potential to cause delays to public transport and some disruption to the road network, which may have a greater than usual impact given the busier pre-Christmas weekend travel.
The strong winds will be more widespread on Sunday, meteorologists said.
‘Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard, especially in respect to causeways’ the Met Office warned. Strong winds and rain in West Bay, Dorset
‘Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard.’
A yellow warning corresponds to a ‘medium likelihood and a low impact’.
Sleet, snow and hail has already fallen across large swathes of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland today – as well as heavy rainfall.
The delays and cancellations at Heathrow come after the airport had said earlier this week that it was bracing for the busiest Christmas period in history.
The airport said it was expecting the number of passengers travelling through its terminals on December 25 to be 21 per cent higher than on the same day a year ago.
Heathrow also predicted that the number of passengers for December will exceed the previous record of 6.7 million last year.
But air plane passengers are not the only ones bracing themselves for mayhem.
Drivers were warned that roads and public transport could be disrupted by the strong gusts, as 22.7 million motorists were expected to get away for Christmas yesterday.
Long delays at the Port of Dover saw holidaymakers in long queues as they tried to board the ferry for the Christmas getaway.
Meanwhile, passengers waited at St Pancras International station to get the Eurostar while others waited to board trains at Kings Cross Station for the festive season.
P&O Ferries say journeys between Larne and Cairnryan have been cancelled until at least 8pm today.
CalMac, which operates ferry services on Scotland’s west coast, said 29 of its 30 routes were either cancelled or affected by disruption.
Rail operator ScotRail announced that speed restrictions would be in place for part of the route between Glasgow and Oban/Mallaig, and the Inverness service to Kyle/Wick.
And the AA predicted 21.3 million drivers will hit the road on Sunday while 22.7 million had been expected on Saturday, slightly fewer than the 23.7 million on Friday which was expected to be the busiest day on the roads since the group’s records began in 2010.
A spokesman said ‘if the congestion wasn’t enough of a headache, the inclement weather could create the perfect storm’.
‘We advise those heading out to allow extra time to travel and increase the distance between themselves and other road users.’
The RAC estimated seven million leisure trips would be made on major roads during the weekend, which excludes everyday traffic.
It predicted that congestion hotspots will be on both directions of the M1 to Gatwick via the M25 and the M23; Liverpool to Chester on the M53; Oxford to the south coast via the A34 and the M3; the M25 to the south coast along the M3; and at the Taunton to Almondsbury Interchange in Bristol heading down the M5.
