The UK’s main air traffic control provider explained the essential cancellations were caused by the country’s misty conditions, sparking festive chaos as disruptions continue
Extreme fog has been laid over the country this week, causing distress after widespread flight cancellations.
Some of the UK’s busiest airports have faced chaos since Friday, with foggy weather conditions halting flights. NATS, the UK’s main air traffic control provider cited ‘safety reasons’ for the sudden cancellations.
Multiple journeys from Heathrow were delayed or cancelled, according to the airport. Flightradar24 also showed flights were greatly affected in Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff, amongst others.
The NATS website explains that although fog is ‘common’ it can have a significant affect upon equipment: “Dealing with fog is pretty common and we have processes and procedures to manage the air traffic, such as ‘flow regulations’ to reduce the amount of traffic and try to minimise airborne holding and fuel burn.
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“Aircrafts land using the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the airport, which sends the aircraft a beam which they follow as they land on the runway. This beam must not be broken, which could happen when it’s foggy if other aircraft are on the runway.
“This means spacing between aircraft has to be increased… Increasing the spacing between arrivals decreases the number of aircraft that can land during the foggy period.”
The blog post went on to explain that fog creates “other variables” such as inadequate equipment, landing diversions, and crowded airspace.
However, the disruptive weather is expected to improve over the weekend, as high pressure is expected to drift away. Meteorologists predict that the breeze will then strengthen, turning over the stagnant air and lifting the fog.
The nation’s Betwixtmas may even see a few glimpses of sunshine on Saturday afternoon, and more flights scheduled to go ahead. By Sunday, experts expect clear skies and sunny spells in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Heavy rain will feature in the North and West of Scotland, but fog is predicted to no longer be a concern. Travellers are being urged to continue to check their travel ahead of time.
The weather has been causing greif for passengers. One disgruntled traveller told the BBC: “We’ve started boarding [at Cologne Airport] but are crammed into a space where we’re waiting for the bus. We’ve been standing for about an hour, it’s just been a bit of a nightmare”.
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