Extreme weather causes continued travel 'chaos' across UK

Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall have added to the continued travel disruption across the UK as the heatwave came to an end.

Holidaymakers destined for travel on the road and in the air have been met with delays and cancellations across the UK.

  • Weather

Thunderstorms over the coastal resort of Sheringham in Norfolk. Credit: Barry Williams

In parts of Northern Ireland forecasters issued an amber thunderstorm warning.

The Met Office warned of high water affecting homes and businesses and said power cuts were likely as the heatwave broke with torrential rainfall.

Belfast International Airport recorded 74.4mm between midday and 3pm on Saturday.

The average Northern Ireland rainfall for the month of July is 81.2mm.

Heavy, thundery showers are continuing in western areas as well as parts of Wales, the Met Office said, as changeable weather replaces the hot spell much of the UK has endured for weeks.

Meteorologist Sarah Kent said: “It’s a very unsettled weather picture across the whole of the UK."

In Norfolk hailstones bigger than a 5p coin fell. Credit: Christine Roos

  • Travel

Passengers have described scenes of "utter chaos" at Stansted Airport after spending the night there after their flights were cancelled, while travellers wishing to use the Eurotunnel are experiencing delays of three hours following "extreme weather conditions".

Elsewhere, delays are affecting flights at other UK airports and travellers heading for the Port of Dover were told to expect long queues on the surrounding roads.

Saturday is expected to be one of the busiest days for travel of the year, but recent hot weather and thunderstorms have wrought havoc on the travel network.

Long queues greeted Eurotunnel passengers early on Saturday morning. Credit: Twitter/Sarah Helliwas

Passengers using the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone were warned they face delays of up to three hours on their booked departure time and a 90 minute wait to check-in.

Earlier on Saturday, some customers had been warned of waits of up to five hours and told not to use the cross-Channel service "unless absolutely necessary".

The long delays on Saturday come after many Eurotunnel passengers saw their trains cancelled or faced huge delays on Friday after air conditioning units on the shuttles failed, but by 6pm these had been cleared.

Following six-and-a-half hour queues on Thursday, passengers were prevented from travelling on Friday if they were due to return on the same day or Saturday.

Meanwhile, the knock-on effect of thunderstorms across London and eastern England on Friday night was causing flight delays, with further cancellations feared due to thunderstorms in Europe.

Passengers at Stansted Airport took to social media to post videos and images of huge queues in the terminal.

A spokesperson for the airport said the queues were caused by passengers who stayed overnight in the airport trying to re-book cancelled flights with airlines.

“There are no cancellations [on Saturday] but there are delays because of the knock-on effect and some restrictions because of storm activity in Europe,” they said.

“All the advice is, if you are due to travel today, check with your airline about your individual flight.”

Passengers also took to social media to vent their frustration.

  • Airports

Ryanair tweeted apologies to its customers after cancelling 14 flights due to thunderstorms and air traffic control disruption which it said was "entirely beyond" its control.

Stansted Airport said no other airline had cancelled flights, although many had faced delays.

Gatwick Airport also warned of delays, writing on Twitter: “Adverse weather across Europe is affecting flights in and outbound from Gatwick Airport, this may result in delays and cancellations.

“Please contact your airline for specific flight information before you travel to the airport.”

Similarly, Luton Airport tweeted: “Due to thunderstorm activity across Europe this morning, air traffic control restrictions are in place and some flights may be subject to delay or cancellation.”

Minor delays were reported at Heathrow.

NATS, the UK air traffic control service, which was due to handle 8,841 flights in 24 hours on Saturday, confirmed thunderstorms have affected flights across the UK.

“NATS is working closely with the airports and airlines to ensure safety and to continue providing the most efficient operation possible during this adverse weather period,” a statement said.

“Dealing with bad weather is one of the most difficult things for air traffic controllers to manage.

“Its unpredictable nature means aircraft are not able to fly their usual routes, which results in unusual flight patterns.

“Thunderstorms are particularly disruptive as they effectively block large swathes of airspace because aircraft cannot fly through them.

“Passengers are advised to contact their airline for the latest information on individual flights.”

Travellers at the Port of Dover were advised to allow an extra 90 minutes for security checks due to large queues at check-in, while passengers were advised to leave early when heading to the terminal due to congestion on the roads.