Air travelers in the UK have experienced further disruptions as fog has enveloped much of the country in recent days, resulting in grounded flights and complications with landings and take-offs.
Delays increased throughout the day at London’s Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted airports, as well as at Manchester and Belfast, according to Flightradar24, which monitors flight movements in real-time.
Hundreds of flights to and from Heathrow – the nation’s busiest airport – and Gatwick were delayed, with both airports experiencing over a dozen flight cancellations, as reported by the site.
According to Flightradar24, more than half of Heathrow’s departing flights were marked as delayed.
The foggy weather has been pervasive across the UK.
“As extensive fog continues to impact several UK airports today, temporary air traffic restrictions are in effect at locations with limited visibility,” stated the air traffic control authority NATS.
They noted that the restrictions were implemented to ensure safety, and their teams were collaborating closely with both airports and airlines to minimize disturbances.
The Met Office, Britain’s weather agency, indicated that in some regions, dense fog patches could reduce visibility to as low as 100 meters.
A representative from Gatwick Airport previously mentioned that the temporary air traffic restrictions due to fog and poor visibility could result in delays “throughout the day.”
This disruption comes at one of the peak travel seasons of the year.
