Heavy fog, which severely limits visibility, has led to further cancellations and delays of dozens of flights from Heathrow and Gatwick, and is expected to continue throughout the weekend.
Cloudy weather has covered much of the countryside over the past few days and the Met Office has warned that dense fog could reduce visibility to just 100 meters in patches.
The UK’s main air traffic control provider, Nats, said some airports are affected by “sideways” fog and air restrictions remain in areas with low visibility.
A spokesman added: “Restrictions of this kind are only ever applied to protect safety. We continue to monitor the situation and have Met Office expertise embedded in our operation to ensure we have the most up-to-date information available.”
The BBC reported that 20 flights were canceled at Heathrow on Saturday morning, while another 29 were delayed. Stopped at Gatewic 26 and cancelled. Flights at Stansted Airport have also been affected by the weather, while live maps showed departure delays at Luton and Manchester airports, following a series of cancellations on Friday.
The Met Office has not yet issued a warning but said they are monitoring the situation. Liam Eslick, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said: “It’s that time of year when a lot of people are traveling around the country and a lot of people are on the roads.
“There’s a lot of fog covering a lot of it of Englandmainly for south-east and central England, but the rest of the country also sees quite a bit of thick fog… Saturday morning will be quite dark and there will still be patches of fog which will take a little longer to clear. “
On Friday, dozens of flights were canceled at airports across the UK and hundreds were delayed, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
A spokesperson Gateway AirportWest Sussex confirmed that air traffic restrictions remained in place on Saturday. “Some flights may be delayed throughout the day,” they said. “London Gatwick apologizes for the inconvenience. Passengers should contact the airline for further information.”
Kiera Quayle, from Colechester, Essex, was due to fly from Isle of Man airport to Gatwick on Friday evening with her husband after visiting family, but their flight was delayed for three hours at around 10pm, with next of kin on hand. travel on Sunday
“It’s like five days to seven of us,” Quayle told PA Media. “It’s frustrating and stressful but I’ve heard of a few families who are now missing holidays and jobs that are worse at this point.”
Irem, 36, said her flight from Cologne, Germany, to Manchester airport was delayed for more than six hours on Friday due to fog in northern England. “I think we’re still going to be happy to see.” [her husband’s family in north Wales] tomorrow, he told the BBC.
One flight from Istanbul to Gatwick was delayed for 10 hours, the Cirium flight status showed. “Some passengers were taken to hotels, some were taken to airports due to confusion,” said Dr Shama Junejo on the 10th.
The Met Office has warned motorists to drive steady when driving in fog. The lingering low clouds should clear on Sunday, Eslick said, with winds forecast to “pick up and turn these cloudy and overcast conditions to clear the clouds.”
The recent blinding conditions are less likely to return in the last couple of days of the year, but people hope that the winter won’t last long. Eslick said: “It’s not going to be like wet and horrible [early next week] but it will still be wet and windy across much of the country.
In Scotland, Prime Minister John Swinney has urged people to “pay heed” to ongoing weather warnings for Hogmanay, with rain and snow potentially causing major disruption in the build-up to the new year.