Thousands of trains, hundreds of flights and dozens of ferries have been cancelled ahead of Storm Eowyn.
The Met Office has issued an upgraded red warning, predicting extremely high winds gusting to 100mph.
On what would normally be the busiest travel day of the week, millions of people are finding their planned journeys for Friday scuppered by the latest round of extreme weather.
ScotRail has cancelled all its 2,400-plus trains for Friday, and several English train operators have made widespread cancellations.
For updates on Storm Eowyn – visit our live blog by clicking here
In the skies, many flights to, from and within the UK have been grounded – with British Airways alone cancelling around 100 domestic and Irish links on Thursday and Friday.
Ferries across the Irish Sea will stay in port, as will many Western Isles vessels.
Rail
All ScotRail services for Friday have been cancelled, and no alternative transport will be available. The operator said: “Once the warnings pass, the network will have to undergo safety inspections before services can be reintroduced. Please check the ScotRail website or app before travelling on Saturday morning.” Tickets for travel dated 24 January can be used up to and including Tuesday, 28 January.
In England, rail firms have warned against travelling north of Preston on the West Coast main line and York on the East Coast main line.
Northern Trains has issued a Do Not Travel warning covering all services in Cumbria, Blackpool North to York, Wigan to Leeds, Manchester Victoria to Leeds via Hebden Bridge, Huddersfield to Sheffield, Leeds-Nottingham and the new Northumberland line from Newcastle to Ashington
TransPennine Express has already urged passengers not to attempt to travel from northern England to Scotland on Friday. It is now telling passengers: “We are advising customers to avoid travelling, unless absolutely essential, between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York. Services which we are able to operate across the rest of the TransPennine Express network will run to an amended timetable and may be subject to significant disruption with short notice delays, alterations and cancellations all possible.”
Air
Airlines and airports are bracing for severe disruption as Storm Eowyn approaches. Besides the challenges of flying in high winds, there is the issue of staffing. Traffic Scotland’s warning against road travel applies to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, and aviation workers will not be able to use trains because they have all been cancelled.
Ahead of Storm Eowyn, British Airways has cancelled almost 100 domestic flights linking Scotland and Northern Ireland with London Heathrow and London City. A dozen Dublin flights have also been grounded.
Cancellations from Heathrow began on Thursday evening, with eight departures grounded. The remaining 68 are morning and afternoon flights on Friday. Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh and Glasgow have at least 10 flights each grounded.
At Scotland’s busiest airport, Edinburgh, easyJet has so far grounded at least 20 arrivals and departures. Air France, Lufthansa and United Airlines have grounded flights to and from their hubs at Paris CDG, Frankfurt and New York Newark respectively.
A spokesperson for Edinburgh airport said: “We will have operational staff on-site for the first wave (early morning traffic) which falls out with the red warning, and it is then for airlines to decide how best to operate. At that point, we will facilitate operations as best we can.”
Northern Ireland’s main airport, Belfast International, is also limiting operations. A spokesperson said: “This is a fast-moving situation and flight schedules will continue to change over the coming hour.
“Translink will not operate any airport bus services for the duration of the red weather warning so passengers should make alternative arrangements.
“We will provide updates when we can but we would also advise passengers to check with their airlines for the latest information on their flights.”
An easyJet spokesperson said: “Due to the severe weather warning in place tomorrow and over the weekend for parts of the UK, disruption to some flights is expected.”
Sea
Almost all sailings linking England, Wales and Scotland with the island of Ireland are cancelled on Friday. There are also widespread Caledonian MacBrayne ferry cancellations for Thursday and Friday
Many routes on Thursday ended early so ships could be safely in port. They include service has ended with the arrival of the 3pm ferry on Thursday, and no sailings will take place on the route on Friday.
Caledonian MacBrayne has cancelled the entire sailing schedule for Friday on the following routes:
- Gourock-Dunoon Kennacraig-Islay
- Largs-Cumbrae
- Mallaig-Armadale
- Mallaig/Oban-Lochboisdale
- Oban-Barra
- Ullapool-Stornoway
- Wemyss Bay-Bute
But the link from Tarbert on the Isle of Harris to Uig on Skye is forecast to go ahead on Friday morning. The remainder of sailings are cancelled.
Road
RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “Strong winds mean there’s a higher likelihood of fallen branches and trees on rural routes between motorways and A-roads, which can obstruct journeys and puncture tyres if not carefully avoided.
“Drivers also need to be well aware of the buffeting effect of sudden gusts, especially along coastlines and exposed areas where the worst weather is expected. High-sided vehicles are most at risk of being blown off course, but cars can also be affected as they pass lorries on the motorway and are then hit by the wind on the other side.
“Keep speeds low and have a firm grip on the wheel to avoid being caught off-guard, especially in areas where heavy rain will affect visibility.”
The AA is advising drivers to check forecasts before venturing out and to adjust their speed to suit the conditions. “In the most affected areas drivers are asked to consider if their journey is necessary,” the organisation says.
Some National Express coach services will be curtailed on Friday because of Storm Eowyn. They were all due to run within the red weather warning area across Scotland.
