Christmas getaway disruption continues as flights cancelled and yellow weather warnings issued
Strong winds of up to 75mph are set to hit parts of the UK on Sunday as the Christmas getaway disruption continues with flights and ferries cancelled by bad weather.
Heathrow airport confirmed that around 100 flights had been cancelled on Sunday but stressed that the majority of flights were operating as normal.
A spokesperson for the airport said: “Due to strong winds and airspace restrictions, a small number of flights have been cancelled today. This will ensure the vast majority of passengers can still travel as planned.
“We know how important travel at this time of year is and have extra colleagues on hand in our terminals to support people on their journeys. We encourage passengers to check with their airline for the latest information about their flight.”
It comes as the Met office issued yellow weather warnings for wind at 7am on Saturday which is expected to continue until 9pm on Sunday, and ice warnings in northern parts of Scotland until 10am on Monday.
Wind warnings remain in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in England the warnings cover the North East, North West, South West and West Midlands as well as Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Hampshire.
The strongest winds were recorded were 82mph in Kirkwall on Orkney and the South Uist Range.
On Sunday evening, Belfast airport closed its runway for the rest of the day after a flight suffered a hard landing due to "adverse weather" and has urged passengers to contact their airline.
At Glasgow Airport, several Loganair flights to Hebridean islands have been cancelled with 18 ferry routes operated by CalMac have been stopped.
P&O Ferries also cancelled services between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in southern Scotland, on Sunday.
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “There will continue to be more challenging travel conditions, with coastal areas seeing around 50 to 60mph winds.
“Extremely exposed coastal areas could see up to 70 or 75mph and parts of the west are expected to see 40 or 50mph.
“In the evening we are expecting these to ease and gradually drop off.
“My advice for people travelling today and tonight is to take it easy, particularly in the north and east. The main concern is that there’s the potential for icy patches in some areas.”
The AA warned of a "perfect storm" created by bad weather and congestion as they estimated that 67.7 million drivers would hit the road over Friday - Sunday in the weekend leading up Christmas.
A spokesperson said: “If the congestion wasn’t enough of a headache, the inclement weather could create the perfect storm.
“We advise those heading out to allow extra time to travel and increase the distance between themselves and other road users.”
Looking ahead to next week, conditions are expected to improve and the UK could see a “grey Christmas”, rather than a white one.
Mr Stroud said: “We’re expecting to see some sunny spells further east and a lot of cloud from the west.
“Temperatures should rise considerably and it will be extremely mild over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“In England and Wales, temperatures will be well above average with some grey in the mix. We’re expecting an average of around 12C or 13C on Christmas Eve and 11C or 12C on Christmas Day. The usual average for this time of year is 7C or 8C so we’ll be around double where we usually are.
“Overnight temperatures in Scotland for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be extremely mild.”
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