UK airports are gearing up for yet another day of unrest as the dense fog brings major disruption for the third day in succession.
British Airways has already announced that all domestic flights into and out of Heathrow will be cancelled today (December 22) and the airline also expects to operate a reduced short-haul schedule.
The British flag carrier has pledged that those who have found themselves stranded at Heathrow will be transported via coach to their destinations in Newcastle, Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. For full information on individual flights, passengers are advised to check the airline’s website www.ba.com.
In Manchester, weather conditions improved dramatically overnight, but passengers at the airport are still set to suffer as a result of a backlog built up yesterday.
As Britain’s airports prepare for what should be one of their busiest periods of the year, the bad weather could hardly have arrived at a worse time.
Mark Bullock, BAA’s managing director for Heathrow, said: “We are working extremely hard with airlines to operate as many flights as possible for passengers so that they can make their journeys for Christmas.”
Bmi, another of the airlines to be affected by the thick fog, has speculated that flow rates at Heathrow will reach just 50 per cent of normal capacity today.
The Met Office does not expect the fog to disappear before Christmas Day, which could force hundreds of thousands of travellers to rearrange their plans for the festive period. All of those planning to take a flight within the next few days are strongly advised to check their flight’s status before travelling to the airport.
BAA spokesperson Simon Baugh has observed that most airlines will allow affected passengers to re-book, re-route or get a refund, but he admits that spare seats are fairly limited in the run-up to Christmas.
