Tuesday, 24 Dec 2024

Hundreds of flights cancelled as Storm Eunice grinds nation to a halt

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled across the country as Storm Eunice pummels the UK.

Dangerous gale force winds have triggered mass travel disruption with trains, planes and ferries affected.

London City Airport has announced that all flights in and out will be cancelled until 4.30pm, when it is hoed the worst of the storm will pass.

British Airways has also cancelled at least 80 flights from London airport as the nation grinds to a halt.

Forecasters warn Eunice could bring wind gusts of 100mph on Friday, causing significant disruption and power cuts.

For the latest storm Eunice updates, visit our live blog: Storm Eunice live

Millions of people have been told to stay at home due to the strong winds posing the risk of ‘flying debris and a danger to life’ and as well as ‘roofs blown off and power lines brought down’.

The storm has wrecked chaos with travel plans. All trains in Wales have been suspended and there have been mass cancellations across the north, with operators warning people to stay at home.

London City Airport has cancelled all flights until 4.30pm this afternoon, when it is hoped the worst of the storm will have passed.

Meanwhile, flights to and from Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Aberdeen and Frankfurt are among those that have been cancelled throughout the day from various airports.

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BA apologised to one customer on Twitter whose flight to Verona was cancelled, saying to due ‘extreme weather conditions we’ve had to reduce our flights’.

The company said the rate of aircraft permitted to land at Heathrow Airport ‘is being reduced due to gale force winds’.

Many other airlines have cancelled some flights in and out of Heathrow, including Aer Lingus from Cork and Dublin, Swiss from Zurich, Lufthansa from Frankfurt and KLM from Amsterdam.

Passengers who have managed to board flights are also facing severe delays.

An easyJet flight from Bordeaux to Gatwick attempted two landings before their Airbus went into a holding pattern over Sussex before flying back to its starting point in southwest France.

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The airline told passengers: ‘We’re very sorry that your flight has now been diverted back to Bordeaux. This is due to poor weather conditions in London Gatwick, which are below safe operating limits.’

easyJet has cancelled flights to Amsterdam and Belfast from Gatwick, while Wizz Air has grounded its departures from Gatwick to Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.

Eastern Airways axed its London-Gatwick service and Exeter Airport has cancelled three domestic flights.

Jet2 also said Eunice is ‘causing significant disruption which may impact our flying programme’. The budget airline has delayed its morning flights to Tenerife and Turkey to the afternoon, by when the storm is expected to have passed.

The disruption comes at a busy time, with more passengers than usual expected to be travelling due to the half-term break.

Airports are advising people to regularly check the status of their flight amid the risk of mass delays and disruption.

Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted all asked passengers to check with their airline for the latest information.

Heathrow wrote on Twitter: ‘High winds and poor weather may cause last-minute delays, but we will do everything in our power to minimise any disruption that results.’

Gatwick airport tweeted: ‘Be advised that due to storm #Eunice, there may be disruption to flights, trains & the shuttle service. Please try to arrive earlier, take extra care and check with your travel providers for flight information.’

Stansted wrote: ‘Due to potential disruption caused by #StormEunice… passengers are advised to check with their airline for the most up-to-date flight information. We also advise allowing plenty of time for your journey to the airport, as road and rail networks may be affected.’

Similar warnings were issued by airports outside London. Bristol, Manchester, Belfast and Cardiff airports all warned people to take extra precaution while travelling and to check the status of their flight for delays and cancellations.

At Bristol airport, easyJet has suspended flights to and from Amsterdam, Basel and Edinburgh, while  links to Dublin on Aer Lingus and Amsterdam on KLM are cancelled.

The Met Office issued several weather warnings ahead of what could be the worst storm in 30 years.

A red alert, the most severe category, covers London, the south east, the south west and Wales. It has been issued due to the combination of high tides, strong winds and storm surge.

Amber warnings for wind are in place across the rest of the country, while yellow weather warnings, the next level down are in force for a large part of Scotland – where blizzards are predicted – and the whole of Northern Ireland.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the Army is on standby to help those affected by Storm Eunice.

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