UK weather: All flights are halted at Stansted Airport

• After snow, ice, and freezing fog enveloped the UK, flights at Heathrow and Gatwick were also cancelled or delayed.
• Scotland, London, and south-west England are still under a yellow weather warning.
• Following several highway incidents, trains have also been delayed and drivers have been urged to exercise caution.

On Sunday night, Stansted announced that all flights had been cancelled and that its single runway had been shut down to clear snow.

The safety of the aircraft and the passengers is of the utmost importance, the spokesman continued. “Delays to flights were previously experienced owing to aircraft de-icing, which is a ground handler’s responsibility.”

“Passengers are urged to contact their airline for the most recent flight status.”

James Love reported that he spent several hours at Stansted trapped on a Loganair aircraft that was unable to take off.

He explained, “The captain wants to de-ice the wing. But by the time the ground crew arrived to complete that task and the plane was prepared, the runway had closed, so we had to stand back up.

The crew, on the other hand, he claimed, had been fantastic and had “made the whole affair a lot better, or at least as good as can be for this kind of situation.”

Gatwick and Heathrow are impacted

The freezing fog that caused air traffic control restrictions on the number of planes that could land and depart each hour caused more than 50 flights at Heathrow to be cancelled on Sunday.

The airport claimed that it was doing its best to get travellers to their destinations as swiftly as possible while maintaining their safety.

A spokesman stated, “We recommend travellers to verify their flight status with their airline for the most up-to-date information.”

The largest airline serving Heathrow, British Airways, issued an apology to its passengers and said it was refunding or rebooking any passengers whose flights were cancelled, offering refreshments and hotel vouchers as needed.

It stated that Heathrow would again limit flights into and out of the airport on Monday, causing additional congestion.

Sunday 11/ Monday 12 December: Snow and freeezing weather may cause disruption at the airport. Passengers are advised to check flight status with their airline – and also local travel conditions – before departing for the airport.

— Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) December 11, 2022

Due to unforeseen snowfall, Gatwick Airport briefly closed one of its runways at 17:55 GMT on Sunday. It reopened the runway at 20:00 when the weather was safer.

28 more planes were diverted to other airports while a handful of flights were delayed or cancelled due to the closure.

A representative stated, “Every attempt is being made to get these flights back to Gatwick tonight.”

“This evening is forecast to bring further freezing weather, which could impede airport operations.

Before leaving for the airport, passengers are urged to check the status of their flights with the airline and the local travel conditions. This applies to those travelling tonight and the following day.

An official from London Luton Airport issued a warning that there might be flight disruptions and suggested that customers give themselves extra time to get to the airport.

Numerous flights were impacted on Saturday as Manchester Airport stopped both runways due to “heavy snowfall.”

On Sunday, some travellers voiced their displeasure at the paucity of information provided by the airlines on the cancellations.

Others claimed that the ice conditions had made it impossible for them to exit planes.

Picked a bad weekend to go to Northern Ireland: 5 hr delay on Friday night because of a lack of de-icing capacity and return flight to Gatwick has just landed (late!) in Luton because of snow. Stuck on plane waiting to hear options – get off or fly to Gatwick… :-/

— Stephen Curry (@Stephen_Curry) December 11, 2022

Railway and road disruption

On Sunday, there were numerous road accidents as a result of the heavy snowfall and the hazardous driving conditions that were present.

The M54 in Shropshire was closed between junctions 3 and 2, and there was also heavy traffic on the M5 slip road to the M6.

According to Highways England, a multi-vehicle collision between junctions 11A and 12 near Quedgeley caused the southbound M5 in Gloucestershire to be closed.

Following accidents on other highways, such as the M58, M62, and M61, motorists in north-west England were also cautioned to drive carefully.
Due to heavy snow, National Highways has advised road users in the South East not to travel on Sunday evening.

I’ve covered maybe 200 yards in the last four hours, Nicole remarked “Although it reads “salt spreading,” I’m quite sure they haven’t grated this road because there are cars skidding all over the place, lorries jackknifing, and there are no visible road markings.

It’s just horrible,

The AA issued a warning to drivers on Monday morning to prepare for the cold temperatures.

According to Sean Sidley of the AA, “if you don’t modify your speed and driving style in colder weather, risks like black ice can be lethal on a frosty morning.”

He advised drivers to give themselves plenty of room behind other vehicles, allow additional time for their trips, bring winter necessities like warm, waterproof layers in their cars, and pay attention to warning signals on other cars.

Delays affected trains in the West Midlands as well.

The UK’s Met Office has announced that its severe weather warning, which warns of potential road travel delays as well as delayed or cancelled rail and air travel, will be in effect until 9:00 on Monday morning.

In northeast Scotland, nighttime lows of -15C (5F) are possible.

Despite some athletic events being postponed due to the cold, the Met Office removed its weather warning for Northern Ireland.

Following the rescue of four kids who had fallen through ice on a lake close to Birmingham and were now in serious condition, it issued a warning about the dangers associated with open water.

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