For the second consecutive day, fog has brought delays to the arrival and departure schedules of a number of British airports.
The poor visibility has caused further delays to schedules that have already been hit by the effects of a general strike in France.
At Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, in excess of 120 inbound and outbound flights were cancelled, while many more have suffered delays of various durations. Two other airports that serve the capital, London City airport and Stansted, have also suffered disruption to their schedules, while Newcastle in the northeast of England has also cancelled flights.
Easyjet was one of the operators hit by the poor conditions, with coaches being laid on to transfer the company’s passengers from Southend Airport to Stansted, after flights to Belfast and Amsterdam had to be relocated. The carrier warned travellers to expect disruption in a notification on its website.
Air traffic control delays due to disruption caused by striking French civil service workers was cited by Bristol Airport in the southwest of England, although passengers were still being advised to check-in on time and to access their airline’s website for updated flight information. Southampton airport, on the south coast, issued similar warnings to its passengers.
A spokesman at Heathrow, said, ‘there are delays and cancellations due to fog and industrial action in France.’
The delays look likely to continue as the met office predicted that the atmospheric conditions could last for some hours to come, not a promising start to a winter season that traditionally brings its fair share of weather associated delays to the UK’s transport system.
