London shrouded in fog, airports blocked and flight delays

A thick blanket of fog caused the partial interruption of air traffic in the main British airports with flight delays and cancellations in bursts just a few days before the New Year celebrations. Temporary traffic restrictions “remain in place where visibility is poor”, Britain’s Air Traffic Control Service (NATS) said.

London airports – Heathrow and Gatwick in the lead – they appear to be the most affected by the fog but Manchester airport (in north-west England) is also dealing with the problem of poor visibility. By mid-afternoon, according to the Flightradar24 service, which follows aircraft movements in real time, more than 250 flights departing from Gatewick had faced delays while 15 flights had been canceled since the start of the day. The same goes for Heathrow, where more than 330 flights departing had been delayed and 19 had been cancelled.

Nats invited all travelers to contact their company flight before leaving and to check the weather situation. The MET Office, the national weather office, has placed much of Scotland on yellow alert for snow and rain. The yellow alert was also triggered in northern England but due to exceptionally strong winds. Dozens of flights from Manchester, Gatwick and Heathrow were also canceled yesterday for the same reasons.