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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Alice Ross and agencies

UK weather: flights cancelled as freezing fog grips south of England

Freezing fog shrouds London – timelapse video

Freezing fog in southern England is expected to continue causing disruption to air travel overnight and into Tuesday.

Thousands of passengers at Heathrow, Gatwick and other airports faced cancellations and delays as a result of the weather on Monday morning.

The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for all of England except the north-east; the warning will remain in place until 11am on Tuesday.

Freezing fog is expected to reform overnight and will become widespread across parts of south-west England, the Midlands and south-east Wales, with dense patches likely elsewhere.

It is expected to thin and lift during Tuesday, although it may persist throughout the day in some areas, the Met Office said.

About 100 flights were cancelled at Heathrow on Monday. A spokesman apologised to anyone affected and said there may be further cancellations on Tuesday.

“With Heathrow operating at more than 99% capacity, there are no gaps in the schedule that can be used for delayed flights, and as a result some passengers may experience disruption to their journeys,” the spokesman said. “Passengers should check their flight status with their airline before coming to the airport.”

Fifty-five flights from London City airport – more than 40% of all scheduled departures – and 34 incoming flights were cancelled.

At Gatwick, 21 departures and the same number of arrivals fell foul of the weather. At least seven departures from Southampton airport were also cancelled.

A spokeswoman for Stansted airport said there had not been any cancellations there but advised passengers to check with their airlines for the latest information and allow enough time to get to the airport.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, was one of those affected by the disruption. She had been due to attend an engagement in London on Monday morning but was delayed at Glasgow airport because a small number of flights south were cancelled.

Meanwhile, road users were warned of difficult driving conditions and advised that journeys were likely to take longer than usual.

There were 31 road collisions in Dorset on Monday morning, six times more than would occur at that time on an average weekday, Dorset police said. The incidents all occurred before 10.30am, as fog and ice caused conditions on the roads to deteriorate – although the exact cause of each collision is still under investigation.

Ferries running to and from the Isle of Wight between Lymington and Yarmouth have been suspended until mid-morning on Tuesday due to dense fog, Wightlink Ferries said.

It is advising customers booked on that route to rebook via Portsmouth to Fishbourne, and is providing coaches for foot passengers hoping to travel on the alternative service.

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