Heavy fog across the south of England caused traffic disruption on Tuesday morning and dozens of flights were cancelled due to low visibility.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Heathrow, which was forced to cancel 45 flights because of low visibility, while London City airport in east London had cancelled 43 arrivals and departures by 9am. Up to 18 flights were also delayed or diverted as fog shrouded the city, causing poor visibility.
A City airport spokesman said: “Adverse weather is causing delays and cancellations this morning. Passengers are advised to check with the airline directly for flight info.”
Gatwick said the fog was impacting incoming flights and there were delays but no cancellations, while Stansted said it had accepted two diversions from City airport.
Highways England urged drivers to take extra care on the roads, telling them to check their headlights and fog lights and drive slower than usual.
Drivers faced areas of fog, including some dense freezing fog patches with visibility of less than 100 metres on Tuesday morning.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for fog overnight, adding that while most areas would clear by the afternoon some heavy patches of fog could persist in the Midlands, East Anglia and the south-east.
“There is a north-south split in the weather today, with rain from the Atlantic coming in heavy bursts in Scotland and Northern Ireland,” said Emma Boorman, a Met Office forecaster.
The “very foggy” conditions were due to continue throughout the morning, with a misty and dull day expected.
A spokesman from Gatwick said: “Due to foggy conditions across the south-east some arriving aircraft are subject to air traffic control restrictions, however this is not currently expected to have a significant impact on today’s schedule.”
A Heathrow spokesman said passengers could experience disruption to their journeys. “Heathrow advises passengers to check their flight status with their airline before coming to the airport. We apologise to those whose travel has been affected,” he said.
British Airways warned passengers that flights were delayed and cancelled because of the fog.
A BA spokeswoman said it would refund or rebook the flights of any affected customers as soon as possible. She said: “We’re sorry that some of our customers’ travel plans have been affected due to thick fog at Heathrow, which has led to a reduction in the number of aircraft which can land each hour.
“For safety reasons Heathrow airport, air traffic control and airlines have agreed to operate a slightly reduced schedule to help mitigate the effects of the fog.
“We would advise customers to keep checking ba.com for the latest information about their flights.”
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