Flights delayed and trains cancelled amid murky weather which has reduced visibility to less than 100 metres
Lingering fog and overrunning engineering works on the railways is continuing to cause travel problems in the post-Christmas dash.
Saturday is expected to be another busy travel day with many returning home after visiting loved ones during the festive period.
However, flights continue to be delayed and some have been cancelled at airports including Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester amid murky weather.
Fog has shrouded much of the country over the past few days and shows little sign of fading.
In some areas, thick fog patches could reduce visibility down to just 100 metres overnight and into Saturday, the Met Office said. Due to the fog, Gatwick airport has been forced to introduce air traffic restrictions.
“Temporary air traffic restrictions have been put in place due to fog causing poor visibility. Some flights may be delayed throughout the day,” a spokesperson for Gatwick Airport said.
“London Gatwick apologises for any inconvenience. Passengers should contact their airline for further information.”
A spokesperson for Nats, the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said on Friday: “Due to widespread fog, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place at several airports across the UK today. Restrictions of this sort 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. Our teams are working closely with the airports and airlines to minimise disruption.”
National Rail has a number of large-scale engineering projects ongoing over Christmas and New Year which will mean closures at London Paddington and London Liverpool Street.
However, other smaller projects have not been finished on time and caused further disruption.
South Western Railways said that due to overrunning works at Battersea, south London, all lines were closed early on Saturday morning.
They are expected to reopen but train services may be cancelled, delayed or revised.
Avanti West Coast warned customers not to travel north of Preston due to damage to overhead lines in the Lanark area of Scotland.
Passengers can use their tickets on ScotRail and TransPennine Express services instead.
The operator has been hit by a similar problem in London due to damage to overhead electric wires between Watford Junction and Milton Keynes Central.
The Met Office has advised motorists to go steady when they are driving in fog.
“It’s that time of year when people are travelling around the country a lot and there are a lot of people on the roads,” meteorologist Liam Eslick said.
“There is a lot of fog covering much of England, mainly the South East 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.”
But lingering low cloud should start to clear on Sunday, Mr Eslick said.
Some stronger winds are forecast on Sunday which “will pick up and turn over these cloudy and murky conditions to help clear the fog”, Mr Eslick added.
The murky conditions of late are less likely to return in the last couple of days of the year but people should not hold out hope for much winter sunshine.
“It looks like it won’t be as dank and horrible (early next week) but it will still be wet and windy across much of the country,” Mr Eslick said.