Heathrow flight cancellations – live: More than 100 services grounded by freezing fog

More than 15,000 passengers face cancellations

UK weather: The latest Met Office forecast

More than 100 flights have been grounded at the UK’s busiest airport this morning by severe weather.

Heathrow is experiencing mass cancellations due to freezing fog that has swept across the country, leaving at least 15,000 passengers’ travel plans disrupted.

Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Milan, Paris and Stockholm routes have seen multiple cancellations.

At least 20 British Airways departures to domestic and European destinations were scrapped on Sunday evening due to fog, with the corresponding inbound flights this morning cancelled.

A British Airways spokesperson said: “Like other airlines, our schedule has been affected by the continued freezing fog weather conditions experienced across London.

“We’ve apologised to customers whose flights have been affected and are doing everything we can to get them on their way as quickly as possible.

“We advise customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information.”

Key points

• More than 12,000 passengers affected
• Multiple short-haul and domestic flights axed

[23 January 2023 12:06 · Simon Calder]

What are your rights if your Heathrow flight is cancelled by fog?

British Airways has now cancelled well over 100 flights to and from its main base, London Heathrow, on Monday.

Freezing fog is responsible for slowing the “flow rate” at western Europe’s busiest airport.

Aer Lingus, Air France, Lufthansa, SAS and Swiss have also cancelled flights. More than 15,000 passengers are affected, and that number is likely to increase with knock-on disruption from long delays.

Read our full explainer to find out what your rights are if your flight goes wrong:

[23 January 2023 11:03 · Simon Calder]

British Airways has now cancelled well over 100 flights on Monday

The number of passengers affected by British Airways cancellations at London Heathrow is now believed to be around 15,000.

Freezing fog at the UK’s main aviation hub has affected BA, which has more than half the airport’s “slots,” much more than any other airline.

After the initial round of cancellations overnight, more short-haul departures have been grounded, including return trips to Basel, Luxembourg and Newcastle.

Many destinations are now seeing multiple cancellations, with 10 sectors grounded between Heathrow and Madrid.

Each of the three biggest Scottish airports – Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow – has six flights to and from Heathrow grounded.

Aer Lingus, Air France, Lufthansa, SAS and Swiss have also cancelled flights.

[23 January 2023 10:46 · Simon Calder]

Why does fog disrupt aviation?

Some travellers are taking to social media to complain about the mass cancellations and severe delays at London Heathrow. Instrument landing in poor visibility – using a beam sent to the aircraft which pilots follow as they land on the runway – has been in use by passenger aircraft since 1938.

But Paul Beauchamp of the air-traffic control service, Nats, explains in a blog that the system still needs careful management.

“This beam must not be broken, which could happen when it’s foggy if other aircraft are on the runway,” he writes.

“Spacing between aircraft has to be increased, with aircraft having to taxi far enough away so they do not interfere with the ILS beam.

“Typically the spacing between aircraft increases by up to 50 per cent.

“Increasing the spacing between arrivals decreases the number of aircraft that can land during the foggy period. This means delays, which can build very rapidly for the aircraft holding in the air, waiting for their turn to land.

“And there are other variables. Does the airfield have the right equipment to help aircraft land? Different aircraft have different equipment for landing in fog; and different levels of visibility mean pilots need different qualifications to deal with it; and not all airfields can take all types of aircraft anyway.

“Careful consideration has to be given to all of these aspects to ensure aircraft can land and depart safely.”

[23 January 2023 10:19 · Simon Calder]

Extreme delays at Heathrow

Hundreds of passengers who were due to arrive at Heathrow on Sunday are facing long delays due to freezing fog at the UK’s busiest airport.

Sunday’s operations were heavily disrupted, and as a result several British Airways flights to European destinations were unable to operate back as scheduled to Heathrow because the crew reached their maximum hours.

The longest delay so far is from Larnaca in Cyprus. Passengers were due to fly out at 7.30pm on Sunday night, arriving at 10.35pm. Now the BA plane is planned to take off shortly after 1.30pm, over 18 hours late.

Some passengers from Madrid are running 16 hours late; from Warsaw, 15 hours; and from Barcelona, 13 hours.

[23 January 2023 09:48 · Simon Calder]

European destinations suffer multiple flight cancellations

The Independent has analysed cancellations at Heathrow and identified many destinations with multiple flights grounded.

These are the current figures for arrivals and departures where at least three flights have been cancelled.

Most are on British Airways, though Frankfurt and Dublin are also seeing cancellations on Lufthansa and Aer Lingus respectively.

Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Paris CDG: five cancellations each

Dublin, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Milan Malpensa: four cancellations each

Aberdeen, Berlin, Brussels, Manchester, Geneva, Stockholm: three cancellations each

[23 January 2023 09:44 · Simon Calder]

Heathrow Airport hit by mass flight cancellations

More than 12,000 passengers with British Airways and other airlines are facing cancellations as flights from Heathrow airport are grounded due to freezing fog.

At least 85 BA flights have been grounded on the first day of the working week as the “flow rate” of arrivals has been reduced because of fog at the UK’s busiest airport, which is also experiencing severe cold – with a temperature of minus 8C.

Links with Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Milan Malpensa, Paris CDG and Stockholm are seeing multiple cancellations. One long-haul departure, to Miami, has been grounded due to weather.

Read the full story:

[23 January 2023 09:41 · Helen Coffey]

Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s Heathrow liveblog. We’ll be sharing all the latest updates on flight delays and cancellations throughout the day.