Storm Eunice: Swaying plane’s terrifying landing in 100mph winds as flights, ferries and trains cancelled

British Airways says rate of aircraft permitted to land at Heathrow Airport ‘being reduced due to gale force winds’

This is the scary moment a plane struggled to land safely at Heathrow as Storm Eunice led to flights, ferries and trains being cancelled across the UK.

Two of the most severe red weather alerts from the Met Office are in force in London and southern England as winds of up to 122mph have been recorded so far today.

The powerful storm, the second to hit the UK in three days, has led to travel chaos across the road and rail network as well as ferry services and airports.

Dozens of flights have been cancelled at Heathrow and Gatwick and more than 100 were delayed, with one British Airways arrival from Chicago forced to divert to Geneva, Switzerland.

>> Follow our live coverage of Storm Eunice here <<

EasyJet said it had cancelled a "small number of flights" from UK airports on Friday while passengers on its flight from Bordeaux to London Gatwick endured two aborted landings before their plane was put in a holding pattern over the south coast and forced to return to the French city.

British Airways said the rate of aircraft permitted to land at Heathrow Airport "is being reduced due to gale force winds".

The airport wrote on Twitter: "High winds and poor weather may cause last-minute delays, but we will do everything in our power to minimise any disruption that results."

National Highways closed a fourth road crossing, the Britannia Bridge, which connects the island of Anglesey with mainland Wales.

It had earlier shut the Severn Bridge near Bristol, QEII bridge at the M25 Dartford crossing and Orwell Bridge in Suffolk.

Across the country, people are being urged to postpone travel plans and train operators have urged passengers to avoid travelling on Friday.

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Rail

Among the firms advising customers not to travel on Friday are Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Great Northern, London North Eastern Railway, Southern and Thameslink.

There are also no trains at all operating in Wales for the entire day, meaning Great Western Railway services from London Paddington are terminating at Bristol Parkway instead of continuing to Swansea.

A red weather warning for wind for the East of England including London has been issued by the Met Office ahead of the arrival of Storm Eunice (PA Wire)

Emergency 50mph speed limits are in place to make it easier for train drivers to brake if they spot objects on the track or damage to overhead wires caused by strong winds.

“Storm Eunice is causing major disruption to the railway across Britain,” Network Rail said. “Stay at home and do not attempt to travel today unless absolutely necessary.”

Roads

The Met Office has taken the unusual step of issuing a severe weather alert with National Highways for strong winds covering the whole of the country’s strategic road network – which includes all motorways and some A roads – from 6am to 6pm on Friday.

Four major road bridges have been closed – Britannia Bridge, Severn Bridge, QEII bridge and Orwell Bridge – and drivers are advised that Storm Eunice is expected to create severe driving conditions across much of England and a significant risk to vehicles in the southwest.

Council workers and members of the public attempt to clear a fallen tree from the A394 road on February 18, 2022 near Penzance (Getty Images)

National Highways’ head of road safety, Jeremy Phillips, said: “In high winds, there’s a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes so we’d advise drivers of these vehicles to slow down.

“Drivers of other vehicles should be aware of sudden gusts of wind which can affect handling and braking, and give high-sided vehicles, caravans, and motorbikes plenty of space.”

The RAC said the number of call-outs to broken-down vehicles was lower than normal, indicating that many people were "taking the weather warnings seriously and not setting out".

Air

At Heathrow Airport on Friday, at least 65 flights - both departures and arrivals - were cancelled and a further 114 were delayed by more than 15 minutes, according to aviation data provider FlightStats by Cirium.

At Gatwick there were 15 cancellations and 67 delayed flights.

A British Airways passenger plane struggles with the high winds on approach to Heathrow Airport (Getty Images)

British Airways said it was “expecting extreme weather conditions as a result of Storm Eunice at airports across the UK on 18 February 2022, which may cause some disruption”.

The airline said: “Safety is our number one priority, and we're doing everything we can to minimise disruption for our customers including putting on larger aircraft where possible and providing a range of flexible rebooking options.”

Sea

Ferry operator P&O Ferries has suspended its Dover-Calais sailings "until further notice".

A spokesman said: "We expect this to be the case for most of the day and we will provide further information when possible.

"We strongly advise our customers not to travel to the Port of Dover today."

Ferry services have also been affected by the storm (SWNS)

Several ferry services due to sail across the Irish Sea were cancelled.

In Dorset, the Sandbanks ferry between Poole and Studland has been suspended.