Wind hits festive travel as Heathrow cancels flights

Strong winds are continuing to cause some travel disruption in parts of the UK as millions of people travel ahead of Christmas.

Heathrow said around 100 flights had been cancelled on Sunday and passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling.

The weather has also led to the cancellation of some ferry services, road closures to high-sided vehicles and rail disruption.

Yellow weather warnings for wind are in place until 21:00 GMT for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and northern and western England.

On Sunday, winds of 50-60mph are predicted, with the Met Office warning of gusts of up to 70mph in exposed coastal and hilly areas – a gust of 82mph was recorded in South Uist on the Western Isles on Saturday.

Saturday also saw disruption, with a number of ferries between Northern Ireland and Scotland cancelled, speed restrictions in place on some trains in Scotland, a “small number of flights” cancelled at Heathrow Airport due to “strong winds and airspace restrictions”, and some road closures in exposed areas.

Travel expert Simon Calder said 100 cancellations at Heathrow was “significant” and a much higher number than you would normally see on a typical Sunday.

Around 80 of the 100 flights cancelled were British Airways, Mr Calder said, and he estimated around 15,000 passengers would be affected.

A spokesperson for British Airways said on Saturday that adverse weather and restrictions on the number of flights able to take off and land had led to “a small number of cancellations”.

They added: “We’re offering free flight changes for those customers booked on short-haul services who don’t wish to travel this weekend, and we will be offering rebooking and refund options as always to those whose journeys are disrupted as a result of the restrictions.”

Ferry company DFDS said it had cancelled seven services between Dover and Calais due to strong winds.

Ferries which operate around Scotland and to Northern Ireland, have also been cancelled.

P&O Ferries said journeys between Larne and Cairnryan have been cancelled until at least 20:00 on Sunday.

NorthLink Ferries said it had cancelled all its sailings for the day, while CalMac cancelled a number of services and warned of “possible disruption” on other routes.

Network Rail warned that strong winds could “severely impact the railway, with train delays and cancellations”.

ScotRail warned that some routes have speed restrictions in place, which would lead to delays, cancellations and revisions of timetables. Disruption is expected until 16:00.

Great Western Rail said trains would not be running between Exeter Central and Okehampton or Barnstaple until around 18:00, due to the weather.

Motoring experts have said this will be the busiest weekend of travel of the year, with the RAC warning it could be a “pretty exhausting experience” and urging drivers to “be patient”.

The AA warned of a “perfect storm” of Christmas getaways and bad weather with a predicted 22.7 million drivers hitting the road on Saturday and 21.3 million on Sunday.

National Highways said that the A66 was closed in both directions to high-sided vehicles between the A1M and M6 due to strong winds.

The A19 Tees Flyover between the A66 and the A1046 are also closed to high-sided vehicles.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis warned motorists about driving conditions: “With the weekend bringing a mix of strong winds along with heavy, and in some places wintry, showers, it’s going to make many of the estimated seven million getaway trips by car a pretty exhausting experience.”

He urged drivers to “be patient”, adding: “These are journeys that matter to us this time of year, don’t expect to get there the minute your sat-nav says you will.

“Allow yourself a bit of time to make it easy and get there safely.”

The winds are expected to ease by Monday, but it is “absolutely not” looking like a white Christmas, according to Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin.

Instead, the UK will see “a grey Christmas” which “is going to be very, very mild”, he said, with cloud and rain set to move in.

Away from the roads, the first of the rail closures taking place over the festive period began on Saturday, with a section of the Midland Main line will closed between London St Pancras and Bedford until 29 December as projects costing £29m are completed. This will affect travel to Luton Airport.

Engineering works will also impact other stations over Christmas, including Paddington and Liverpool Street in London, as well as in the Cambridge and Crewe areas.

Asked why so many trains are cancelled over Christmas for work to take place, at a time when people might be more likely to make leisure journeys and use trains if available, Robert Nisbet, the director of nations and regions at the Rail Delivery Group, which represents National Rail and train operators, said “plenty of thought” goes into closures and the festive period is chosen because “on the whole fewer people travel” then.

He added that the engineering works would improve services and reliability.