UK weather: Gatwick and Heathrow airport cancel or delay dozens of flights in fog

Each airline should enable you to fill out an online form, but these are sometimes difficult to track down. The pages for three leading airlines are here:

Compensation must be paid by bank transfer (or cheque), except if the airline obtains the prior signed agreement of the passenger to pay with vouchers for future travel.

For example, an airline might offer a 30 per cent uplift if you accept vouchers that are valid for a year – so a choice between £350 in cash or £455-worth of flights.

If you are flying from a UK/EU airport or on a British/ European airline and are delayed in arrival by at least three hours, the presumption is that you are owed hundreds of pounds in compensation.

The payment depends on distance:

• Under 1,500km, for example London to Nice: £220 or €250
• 1,500-3,500km, such as Manchester-Malaga: £350 or €400
• Above 3,500km, eg Birmingham-Dubai: £520 or €600. If a long-haul arrival delay is between three and four hours, the compensation is halved.

The only way the airline can avoid paying out is by demonstrating “extraordinary circumstances” were responsible.

extraordinary circumstances refers to “political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes”.

For delays of under two hours you have no rights (unless a short delay in the UK triggers a missed connection and much later arrival at your final ticketed destination – see below).

For longer delays, the airline should provide refreshments as appropriate after a specified length of time. This applies regardless of the cause of the delay.

The time at which the duty of care kicks in depends on the distance you are flying:

• Short flights (up to 1,500km): refreshments after two hours.
• Mid-haul journeys (1,500 to 3,500km): three hours.
• Longer trips: four hours.

Note that if the airline believes providing the care would further delay the flight, it need not deliver.

If the delay extends overnight, the airline is obliged to find and pay for a hotel room. In practice, carriers often say, “too difficult”, and invite the passenger to book their own and reclaim later.

While this practice does not comply fully with the rules, aviation authorities tend to turn a blind eye to it.

On Saturday, 19 flights at Heathrow have been cancelled so far with another 455 delayed, while at Gatwick, 320 are delayed and 16 have been cancelled.

Senior forecaster Craig Snell said the situation should improve on Saturday night.

“Tonight, we should start to see a little bit more in the way of breeze developing, so that should start to disperse some of the poorer visibilities across the rest of the UK,” he said.

“So we might start to see some of the fog and low cloud begin to lift as the night goes on, but generally with plenty of cloud around we’re not really expecting any issues with frost or anything like that.”

On Sunday, south-east England could have a “dull start which is expected to brighten with highs of 12C predicted, he added.

Scott Bateman has sought to explain how the thickest fogs can cause flight disruptions which saw 20,000 passengers affected by delays or cancellations.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for snow and rain in Scotland next week, warning that heavy downpours may bring “significant disruption” in the build-up to Hogmanay.

The alert is in place for most of Scotland, apart from Orkney and Shetland, on December 30 and 31 during which 50-70mm of rain is possible, with up to 140mm in the west.

Snow is likely in areas north and east of Perthshire, with between 10 and 20cm expected to accumulate on higher ground, according to the forecaster.

A yellow weather warning for wind in northern England on Monday has also been issued – with gusts of up to 60mph possible which may cause travel delays and power cuts.

The warning, in place from 11am to 6pm, covers areas including Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

Disruption is continuing at some of the UK’s busiest airports as thick fog blankets the country.

Flights at Stansted airport have been affected by the weather conditions, while live departure boards showed delays at Heathrow, Luton and Manchester airports.

Passengers at Gatwick airport on Saturday morning were warned to expect disruption because of the poor visibility and told to contact their airline for updated information.

Patches of thick fog could reduce visibility to just 100 metres in some areas, the Met Office said.

A spokesperson for the Gatwick said: “Temporary air traffic restrictions have been put in place due to fog causing poor visibility.

“Some flights may be delayed throughout the day.”

Sunday is expected to be the airport’s busiest day during the holiday period, with 769 flights planned.

Nats, the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said temporary air restrictions would remain in place on Saturday in areas with low visibility.

A spokesperson added: “Restrictions of this sort 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.”

There is a yellow warning in place for heavy rain and snow in parts of Scotland for Monday and New Year’s Eve on Tuesday.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations could face “significant disruption” from rain, with organisers warning audiences to “prepare for all weather, wrap up warm and double-check with your travel operator for the latest updates”.