Flights from Gatwick and Heathrow were thrown into fresh chaos today as Storm Boelo battered the UK, grounding more than 100 flights nationwide and forcing the sudden cancellation of some of the capital's landmark weekend events.
Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, has borne the brunt of the disruption in London, with short-haul networks heavily impacted. Gatwick officials urged passengers not to travel without checking their flight status first, warning high winds are creating hazardous conditions.
The severe climate follow hots on the heels of Storm Austen, which struck on Friday. Flights across the south-east have faced restricted air traffic control spacing, causing a cascade of cancellations and leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Beyond the runways, the atmospheric volatility forced a heart-breaking, last-minute cancellation of London's annual Diwali and the Square celebrations. Independent health and safety experts advised the Greater London Authority that heavy gales and persistent downpours on Saturday made it entirely unsafe to build and set up the staging in Trafalgar Square for Sunday's festival.
The following flights scheduled for Sunday have been confirmed cancelled:
- British Airways BA1438 to Edinburgh
- British Airways BA304 to Paris CDG
- British Airways BA562 to Rome
- British Airway BA1320 Heathrow to Aberdeen
- LoganAir LM676 Heathrow to Isle of Man
- Riyadh Air RX9402 Heathrow to Gassim
- Emirates EK064 Heathrow to Dubai
- Easyjet EJU8015 Gatwick to Amsterdam
- Easyjet EZU6427 Gatwick to Jersey
- Lufthansa LH901 Gatwick to Frankfurt
- AirFrance AF1681 Gatwick to Paril CDG
- Aer Lingus I157 Gatwick to Dublin.
- Vueling VY7821 Gatwick to Barcelona
Airlines have aggressively adjusted schedules to prevent a complete gridlock of the network. While the worst of the 85mph gusts are tracking across Scotland and northern England, the outer bands of the weather system continue to heavily restrict flight volumes into London.
It closed its doors for the foreseeable “due to larger flood restoration than originally planned”.
Travel disruption continues and Network Rail Scotland shared an image of flooding from the tracks to the platform in one Glasgow station, and fallen trees above the lines near another.
Speed restrictions are in place across Scotland and several sections of its railways have been closed, the operator added.
It came after Network Rail posted photographs of a trampoline beneath a train and a shed by the tracks, in a call for those living near rail lines to firmly secure their garden furniture.
Collapsed trees, cables on carriageways, strong winds and damaged surfaces prompted closures to major roads in Scotland.
The amber Met Office warning zone includes Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England.
It sits within a yellow wind warning zone that reaches further south and runs until 9pm, while another in Northern Ireland lifted at midday.
Storm Boelo follows Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, which brought strong winds to southern parts of the UK on Friday.
Gusts of 76mph were recorded at St Mary’s Airport in the Isles of Scilly, with 74mph at Aberporth in south Wales and 71mph at Culdrose in Cornwall.
Storm Boelo brings a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and people should stay indoors as much as possible, the Met Office warned.
The Environment Agency had issued five warnings that flooding is expected for spots in northern parts of England as of 11am, as well as 33 alerts where it is possible.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said 34 flood warnings and 11 flooding alerts were active as of the same time.