Thick fog is expected to cause more disruption to flights at UK airports this weekend after hundreds of journeys were delayed or cancelled.
Visibility was reduced to 100 metres in some parts of the country on Friday night and Nats, the air traffic control service, said on Saturday that temporary air restrictions would remain in place in areas with low visibility.
Gatwick and Heathrow airports have advised passengers to check with their airlines about potential delays.
A plane making its way through the fog at Cardiff airport on Saturday morning
BEN BIRCHALL/PA
On Friday, dozens of flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and City airports in London were cancelled, affecting an estimated 20,000 passengers, with some flights delayed by up to three hours. Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff airports were also affected.
Flights on Saturday morning were significantly delayed or cancelled, according to the airport arrival and departure boards at Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester. The affected journeys included getaways to Malaga, Venice and Barcelona.
Tower Bridge in London was shrouded in thick fog as pedestrians crossed the Millennium Bridge
HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Fog hung over the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal took on Ipswich Town on Friday night
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Flightradar24, a tracking website, reported that Gatwick was the most disrupted airport on Saturday morning with average delays of 40 minutes for departures and 81 minutes for arrivals.
A spokesman for Gatwick 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.”
Nats, which handles about 2.5 million flights to and from the UK each year, said that the restrictions “are only ever applied to maintain safety”.
“We continue to monitor the situation and have a Met Office expert embedded within our operation to ensure we have the latest available information,” a spokesman said. “Our teams are working closely with the airports and airlines to minimise disruption.”
Passengers at Manchester airport faced delays as they waited for their flights
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Sunday is expected to be Gatwick’s busiest day during the holiday period, with 769 flights planned.
Jo Rhodes, a travel expert at consumer champion Which?, said: “If your flight is cancelled, you also have the choice of being refunded or rerouted on the next available flight. If you choose the latter, then your airline must get you to your destination as soon as possible — including with a rival carrier, if necessary. Airlines can sometimes be reluctant to buy you a ticket with their competitors, so don’t be afraid to remind them of this rule if another flight could get you where you need to go quicker than they can.”
The Met Office did not any weather warnings for this weekend but had forecast that the “murky” conditions would continue throughout Saturday before brighter weather arrives on Sunday.
The tip of the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral was almost invisible on Friday
HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP
Liam Eslick, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “There is a lot of fog covering much of England, mainly southeast and central England, but the rest of the country is seeing quite a bit of thick fog too.
“It will be pretty murky on Saturday morning and there will still be fog patches that will take a little longer to clear.”
The fog could also affect road travel, prompting the Met Office and the RAC to reissue their tips for driving in low visibility conditions. They included the “two-second rule” to leave sufficient space to the car in front and the use of fog lights rather than full beam headlights. However, there were no major road closures on Saturday morning, according to National Highways.
A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for Scotland on Monday and Tuesday due to the possibility of flooding and power cuts.
The Met Office said that the heavy rain “may bring some significant disruption and flooding in the build-up to new year events”.
Some areas, most likely in western Scotland, could see as much as 140mm of rain over the two-day period. Strong winds could also cause further disruption on New Year’s Eve, the Met Office added.