Thick fog was expected to cause more disruption to flights at UK airports this weekend after hundreds of journeys were delayed or cancelled.
Visibility was reduced to 100 metres in some parts of the country on Friday night and Nats, the air traffic control service, said that temporary restrictions were put in place.
Dozens of flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and City airports in London were cancelled, affecting an estimated 20,000 passengers, with some flights delayed by up to three hours. Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff airports were also affected.
Tower Bridge in London was shrouded in thick fog as pedestrians crossed the Millennium Bridge
HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Fog hung over the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal took on Ipswich Town on Friday night
JAVIER GARCIA/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
Flights on Saturday morning were significantly delayed or cancelled, according to the airport arrival and departure boards at Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester. The affected journeys included getaways to Malaga, Venice and Barcelona.
Flightradar24, a tracking website, reported that Gatwick was the most disrupted airport on Saturday morning with average delays of 40 minutes for departures and 81 minutes for arrivals.
A spokesman for Gatwick airport said in a statement: “Temporary air traffic restrictions have been put in place due to fog causing poor visibility. Some flights may be delayed throughout the day. London Gatwick apologises for any inconvenience. Passengers should contact their airline for further information.”
Nats, which handles about 2.5 million flights to and from the UK each year, said that the restrictions “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,” a spokesman said. “Our teams are working closely with the airports and airlines to minimise disruption.”
The Met Office had not issued any weather warnings for this weekend but had forecast that the “murky” conditions would continue throughout Saturday before brighter weather arrives on Sunday.
The tip of the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral was almost invisible
HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP
Liam Eslick, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “There is a lot of fog covering much of England, mainly southeast and central England, but the rest of the country is seeing quite a bit of thick fog too.
“It will be pretty murky on Saturday morning and there will still be fog patches that will take a little longer to clear.”
The fog could also affect road travel, prompting the Met Office and the RAC to reissue their tips for driving in low visibility conditions. They included the “two-second rule” to leave sufficient space to the car in front and the use of fog lights rather than full beam headlights. However, there were no major road closures on Saturday morning, according to National Highways.
A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for Scotland on Monday and Tuesday due to the possibility of flooding and power cuts.
The Met Office said that the heavy rain “may bring some significant disruption and flooding in the build-up to new year events”.
Some areas, most likely in western Scotland, could see as much as 140mm of rain over the two-day period. Strong winds could also cause further disruption on New Year’s Eve, the Met Office added.