PA Media
Bad weather can disrupt passenger travel, as seen in late 2024 in the UK (2017 file photo)
High winds and fog have delayed or canceled thousands of flights in late 2024 – and winter weather could cause further disruption this weekend.
For many frustrated travelers, it may seem mysterious that a brief period of bad weather can throw schedules into disarray, especially as British weather isn’t exactly known for being the best.
Many of us are used to dealing with train delays here in the UK – whether it’s online departures or just a typical journey – but with all the technological advances in planes and airports in recent years, why the thefts?
BBC News has discovered why there are many reasons why bad weather can wreak havoc on passengers and crew alike.
A “sinister” delay test
Elif Arjin Celik was one of hundreds of people surprised when her flight from London Gatwick to Istanbul was delayed for several hours due to poor visibility in fog on December 28, 2024.
With dozens of flights delayed at the airport, during what was its busiest Christmas since the Covid pandemic, she saw thousands of people waiting in the terminal with nowhere to sit.
She said it was “grim” having to wait 20 minutes just to go to the toilet because of queues due to “extreme overcrowding”.
Elif Arjin Celik
Elif Arjin Celik
“The fridges were empty, there wasn’t enough food for everyone and all the restaurants were struggling to accommodate people,” she told the BBC.
The fog disruptions lasted for three days, affecting tens of thousands of Christmas travelers at airports across the UK.
So why exactly are so many flights delayed in situations like this?
How efficiency can quickly turn to chaos
“Planes can fly safely in fog, but airports operate slowly,” says travel expert Simon Calder.
“The planes follow a beam from the instrument landing system. This beam must not be broken, which could happen in fog,” he told the BBC.
And when there are strong winds, for safety reasons, planes must be spaced further apart than usual.
Although Heathrow has tested artificial intelligence to help planes land in low visibility, ground tower controllers still need to clearly see an arriving plane before issuing a landing clearance, wrote aviation expert Scott Bateman MBE on X.
He says the majority of modern planes can land automatically in the worst fog, but in practice visibility limits are imposed so pilots can see enough to leave the runway.
Mr Calder adds: “If fog or high winds force air traffic controllers to increase the spacing between planes by 50%, capacity is immediately reduced by a third – and the cancellations begin.”
When all is going well, the Gatwick runway has a takeoff or landing every 65 seconds. At Heathrow, schedules are based on planes landing 80 seconds apart.
With this small margin of error, Mr Calder estimates around 75,000 passengers were affected by delays and cancellations due to the Christmas fog.
And with snow warnings ahead, he advises passengers to prepare for more disruptions to their flights.
“The UK has seen some shocking snow closures, which major airports have simply been unable to cope with,” he says, citing a 2010 incident in which hundreds of thousands of passengers have seen cancellations at Heathrow due to snow.
The snow also caused Manchester Airport to close its two runways in December 2022 and again in January 2023, with flights diverted to Dublin and Paris.
Although the extreme cost of disruption of this scale has led UK airports to invest more in equipment and training to clear snow more quickly, don’t expect us to be able to cope like Iceland’s airports can and Greenland.
Mr Calder says we may never be as good as other countries at maintaining an effective schedule in unusual weather conditions.
“Historically, the UK has had a favorable climate. Spending millions to prepare for an unlikely event has been difficult to justify.”
Disruptions could increase
And there’s no good news on the horizon because in the future we can expect more weather disruptions linked to climate change, says Dr Ella Gilbert, a climate expert at the British Antarctic Survey.
She says global warming is increasing the frequency and intensity of rain and snow events, making storms “stronger and more frequent.” It also means more cases of turbulence on planes.
James and Madison King had to take a long diversion on their flight back to the UK from Stockholm over Christmas due to fog.
They were close to home when their pilot announced they did not have enough fuel for a 50-minute holding pattern at London Gatwick. So they flew to Dublin to refuel, then returned to their starting point in Stockholm.
James says he has still not received a refund for the £200 spent on a hotel and dinner during that impromptu extra night in Stockholm.
James King/Madison King
At the center of it all is Nats, the national air traffic service, which steps in to limit traffic in British skies during bad weather, forcing airlines to shake up their schedules.
“Basically pilots don’t want to fly through storms,” Nats told the BBC.
During turbulence caused by thunderclouds, passengers feel uncomfortable and pilots will often want to leave their planned routes, ending up in unexpected parts of the sky and at different times, the organization explained.
“For this reason, we must coordinate with pilots to establish a new route in relation to any other aircraft with which they may share airspace, as well as ensure that any initial traffic is separated from any unexpected additions.”
“If restrictions are lifted too soon, they risk ending up with overcrowded airspace, while on the other hand, restrictions remaining in force longer than necessary can cause unnecessary delays, which no one wants.”
It says it has measures in place to mitigate problems, including preventative weather equipment from the Met Office which can help airlines and airports avoid bad weather conditions.
What are your rights if a flight is canceled due to bad weather conditions?
When flights are delayed or canceled to or from a UK or EU airport, airlines have a duty to look after you, including:
Provide meals and accommodation, if necessary, and get you to your destination. The airline must arrange for you to be placed on an alternative flight, at no additional cost. Your airline should give you the choice between getting a refund or booking an alternative flight. For short-haul flights, the compensation threshold kicks in after a three-hour delay – but is only payable if the delay is considered to be within the airline’s control, meaning you don’t You will not be entitled to this if your plane is delayed by fog, a snowstorm or a security incident.
Learn more about your rights in this situation here.
