Thick fog causes flight cancellations, delays across UK

 By 
Blathnaid Healy
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

LONDON -- Flights in many parts of the UK have been cancelled or are experiencing long delays because of a thick blanket of widespread and dense fog.

The poor weather conditions have led to low visibility, prompting several airlines to warn customers about disruption to flight schedules.

Around 45 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow, while at Gatwick most flights were experiencing delays. Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Bristol, Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff airports were all experiencing fog-related travel delays Monday morning.

If you are due to fly today, please check your flight status with your airline before travelling to Heathrow: https://t.co/zOqJyQR48T (2/2)— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) November 2, 2015

"A slack, moist airmass lying across much of England will allow fog to readily form again on Sunday night, reducing visibility to less than 100 m at times," a yellow weather advisory warned.

Fog is forecast to linger Monday in a few parts of England, but should become brighter elsewhere before reforming in the evening, according to the Met Office.

When an airport is operating in foggy conditions the spacing between planes landing has to be increased, usually by 50%, in order to give an aircraft enough time to taxi far enough away and the next flight given clearance to land.

The UK's air traffic management provider NATS says planes also have to be more widely spaced when manoeuvring around the airport, which all takes extra time and reduces the capacity of the airport, creating delays and disruption.

Passengers tweeted photos of their frustration:

Here's how it's looking at @BELFASTCITY_AIR at 6.07 am. #LondonFog pic.twitter.com/zhZI73ycJC— Eamonn Holmes (@EamonnHolmes) November 2, 2015

Where am I ? Stranded--flight to Glasgow delayed four and a half hours... #argh pic.twitter.com/NBRIblcAMj— Diana Gabaldon (@Writer_DG) November 1, 2015

Chaos at Heathrow, changed flight, jumped in cab to Gatwick, not much better here. Now waiting... #fogoff— Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) November 2, 2015

Great visibility at Heathrow this morning #fog #heathrow pic.twitter.com/C9yU21Apcs— Matt Clark (@mattclarkdotnet) November 2, 2015

Cancelled flights at @BELFASTCITY_AIR this morning. Luckily i was at front of this queue which now stretches outside pic.twitter.com/depVwWQY3K— David Gordon (@4monkeysmedia) November 2, 2015

However some who departed captured beautiful photos above the fog:

Flew into foggy London. Views are beautiful - this is the Shard and all the towers in the city pic.twitter.com/3j6AeF3Btt— Sarah Wells (@sarahjwells) November 1, 2015

Fog over #London delaying my @AerLingus departure from #Dublin. Too early for @GuinnessIreland pic.twitter.com/B1XqybKyLc— Tim France (@francetim) November 1, 2015

A foggy day into LHR today with the Shard and the City poking out! @British_Airways @LHRDirector @LHRTower pic.twitter.com/l63NNUUvUX— Brendan O'Neal (@brendanoneal) November 1, 2015

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!