New Year getaway chaos as fog hits holiday f lights
FREEZING fog ruined the New Year getaway plans of thousands yesterday as scores of flights were cancelled and others took off hours late.
Terrible conditions, which were supposed to have cleared by mid-afternoon, continued to cause chaos last night – hitting not only Heathrow but also Gatwick and London City Airports.
Disgruntled holidaymakers rushed to rebook flights, with passengers reporting a police presence to keep order at check-in desks.
Heathrow said 140 flights were cancelled yesterday, 76 of them departures and 64 arrivals. More were delayed into the evening, with some taking off up to five hours late. Dozens were also still being cancelled at Gatwick last night.
Among the frustrated passengers was Alice de Sousa, 50, who had been booked on a flight to Glasgow from London City Airport. She was put on a taxi to Heathrow when it was cancelled but arrived there to find there were no more seats.
She said: ‘It’s pointless sending people here, because the fog looks worse here than it does at London City. We’ve been told nothing really, only that we can join the queue, and given a piece of paper. It’s very chaotic really.’ Passengers also took to social media to bemoan a lack of communication. Heathrow passenger Pei Zhang questioned the lack of staff on duty to deal with queries. He wrote on Facebook: ‘Because of the delay, hundreds of passengers are waiting in the line to rebook their tickets.
‘For the economy class, there are two ladies helping the passengers, one of which is for the passengers who need special assistance, so actually, there is just one person who is helping us. She spent at least 20 minutes to help just one booking. So after four-and-a-half hours, the line moved forward 20 metres. I think I’ll have to wait six or seven hours to get through now.
‘There are some bad airports, but to be so inefficient and unprofessional like at Heathrow, I did not expect that.’
A Heathrow spokesman said last night: ‘Heavy fog has been affecting flights, leading to delays and some cancellations.’ He said passengers were advised to check the status of their flight with their air- line before travelling, adding: ‘Heathrow’s priority is the safety of passengers and we are sorry for the disruption to their journeys.’ Gatwick also apologised.
Earlier, 17 people were injured when a coach overturned in heavy fog near Oxford. It was carrying passengers from the airport when it veered off a motorway slip road at junction 7 of the M40 at 2.45am, ending up on its side.
Passenger Ali White, a 20-year-old Oxford University student, said: ‘We were told to clamber out but because of the angle the bus was lying at we were practically having to stand on other people still stuck in their seats.’
Yesterday the 54-year-old driver was being treated in hospital along with 16 passengers. The most serious injury was believed to be a broken collarbone.
The Met Office had issued a severe weather warning for thick fog and urged caution on the roads. Highways England said that the M40 and the slip road where the accident happened had been gritted.
Much of the Midlands, East Anglia and southern England woke to a blanket of freezing fog yesterday, making roads hazardous for a third day. The coldest recorded temperature was in South Newington, Oxfordshire, where it was -5.6C (22F) in the early hours. Visibility was less than 100 metres in places.
The fog was set to clear today but the cold was expected to remain until Tuesday, prompting Public Health England to issue a fresh warning to the elderly and vulnerable. But while fog shrouds southern England, Scotland is basking in temperatures of up to 15C (59F).
However over the New Year, there are storms on the way for Scotland with heavy rain and flooding predicted for the Highlands.