Eighteen British Airways flights were cancelled due to air traffic control restrictions, including domestic trips and overseas to Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, and Paris…reports Asian Lite News
Travellers on their way home from the Christmas break are set to endure more disruption today as roads and train lines battered by Storm Gerrit look to recover from the worst of the weather.Heavy rain and winds of up to 80mph brought misery to parts of the UK’s transport network on Wednesday.Yellow weather warnings for strong wind remained in place in parts of Wales and the North West, with Greater Manchester Police responding to several weather incidents in Stalybridge overnight after reports of a small tornado.The Environment Agency still has 19 flood alerts, meaning flooding is expected, active across England, while the Met Office has a yellow warning for snow in place in the Shetlands.Scotland was the most badly impacted by the weather on Wednesday, with police forced to close numerous roads, including one flooded by a deluge in Whitesands, Dumfries.
Motorists on the A9 were delayed for hours due to wind and snow, with one driver, Shenna Moffat, said it took her 14 hours to get home after a “scary” journey from Skye.A major incident was declared before snowploughs were able to start clearing a way through in the Highlands, while further south at Ballinluig the road was closed due to flooding.On the railway, train operators LNER and Avanti West Coast were among those advising customers not to travel – the latter said its West Coast Main Line route to Scotland was impassable.
Network Rail Scotland also imposed speed restrictions because of the weather, which flooded some lines and saw another near Dumbarton East Station closed by a fallen tree.People left stranded were told to book hotels and claim back the costs, with some pre-booked tickets transferable to services aiming to run on Thursday and Friday.Even those who did stay home haven’t been spared from the storm, with 27,000 properties across Scotland suffering power cuts and more than half still experiencing outages late on Wednesday.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has warned some could be affected until Friday.In other parts of the UK, flights and trains are among the services hoping to bounce back from a day of disruption.Eighteen British Airways flights were cancelled due to air traffic control restrictions, including domestic trips to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey and Manchester, and overseas to Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, and Paris.
Dramatic footage showed planes struggling to land at Bristol and Heathrow airports, while some passengers catching flights from Luton were left sweating due to problems on the railway.Signalling failures meant East Midlands Railway was unable to run services between London St Pancras and Wellingborough on Wednesday, while a Thameslink service calling at the airport was delayed by nearly two hours.Travellers heading to airports on Thursday have been urged to check before they travel.In other parts of the UK, flights and trains are among the services hoping to bounce back from a day of disruption.Eighteen British Airways flights were cancelled due to air traffic control restrictions, including domestic trips to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey and Manchester, and overseas to Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, and Paris.
Dramatic footage showed planes struggling to land at Bristol and Heathrow airports, while some passengers catching flights from Luton were left sweating due to problems on the railway.Signalling failures meant East Midlands Railway was unable to run services between London St Pancras and Wellingborough on Wednesday, while a Thameslink service calling at the airport was delayed by nearly two hours.Travellers heading to airports on Thursday have been urged to check before they travel.Storm Gerrit is the seventh named storm of the current UK storm season, which started in September and runs until August next year.It is the earliest point in the season that a storm has been named with the letter G since the system for naming storms started in 2015.
The weather system comes days after Storm Pia coincided with strike action to bring misery to thousands of people trying to get away for the holidays.Lorries were tipped over, trees smashed into houses, and power line damage hit rail services across the country. Pia was named by the Danish Met Office, and caused significant upset in Denmark.The AA urged those travelling on Wednesday to leave a bigger gap to the vehicle in front, as the wet weather could increase how long it takes a car to brake.It also warned drivers that high winds can hit cars suddenly in exposed areas.
ALSO READ-Storm Pia brings Christmas travel woes